Enoch, the Burkes and the "Manions of America"
Enoch Burke, a school-teacher is in jail today and tonight. Once upon a far off time the subject matter at the heart of why he is in prison might have received healthy airing on an Irish program called Today Tonight. An Irish news and current affairs programme noted for its in-depth analysis, robust cross-examination of senior politicians and investigative reporting - a show finally ended in 1992. The successive follow-ups to it have been ever-more watered down with each iteration, and dare I say it, ever-more agenda driven and client conscious. And more’s the pity.
Now, at least everyone associated with this case is agreed that Enoch is in jail. The school, the media, the authorities, Enoch Burke and the wider Burke clan. Given the destruction of information in the last five years that is no small wonder anymore. While this may seem to be a case about a singular action taken by a singular character it is most certainly not that simple. The real story, if you dig down into the weeds, is a tale about a family of children, all still in their twenties now, raised and home-schooled, and isolated away from the clutches of large chunks of the early Irish education system. An Irish family of evangelical Christians practicing a faith far removed from the captivity of the church of woke. It will tell you something about how worried the progressive left are about this tenacious family of siblings when I relate to you that they have their own dedicated Wikipedia page. But even that slanted hit job can’t camouflage their academic genius.
Isaac has a PhD in mathematics, and Kezia has won awards for a paper she wrote on mathematics and physics. Enoch also holds two bachelors degrees (one in theological studies, the other in history and politics) as well as a master's degree in education. Josiah holds an MSc in economic history. Simeon won the Mayo School's Debating Competition alongside his brother Elijah, and represented NUIG at the final of the 2020 Irish Times Debating Competition. All of the siblings who have completed an undergraduate degree received a first-class honors.
So, in this instance, not alone is Enoch Burke a school-teacher he is probably one of the best and most driven teachers in the country. Yesterday, in court, Enoch uttered the following words:
“It seems to me that I can be a Christian in Mountjoy Prison or be a pagan and respecter of transgenderism outside of it. I know where I belong “
It was a remarkable comment on a remarkable day and for a myriad of different reasons, but for me, yesterday , was notable for one more thing. It was the day the rapidly expanding progressivism of the seemingly many met the determinedly puritanical nature of one family. And this man and family managed to slow the train down. It says a lot about the descent and free-fall of the middle Ireland we thought we knew that it took this young man’s actions to force this much needed conversation into the mainstream arena.
Enoch Burke decided to go to prison, yes he decided, and because he did he has muscled the media, government and justice system to engage on a huge societal subject they despise talking about with ordinary people. You see elite, progressive Ireland has already made the decision on this issue and they would quite like everybody to shut their mouths on the topic. And whatever about the rights and wrongs of Burke and this case we should all be thankful for the fact that media and government have been embarrassed into conversation.
I have spent a good deal of time trying to ask questions and tease out the major issues inherent with many aspects of transgender ideology. I am not going to bore you with them here, suffice to say, if you’re interested in my ramblings on this subject you can take a gander at the article below. The US golfer and US Masters champion Fred Couples was once asked about his golf swing by a media commentator.
“ Hey Freddie, do you feel like you have a good handle on the mechanics of your golf swing ? “
“ Well, you know, I understand a little about my swing now, and to be honest, I wish I knew a helluva of a lot less “
I’m starting to feel like this about the ideology of transgenderism.
This Enoch Burke contempt of court charge is getting news coverage in the UK, US and the wider world. All sorts of larger interests and narratives will now come into play no doubt. Some fair and some foul. Let’s not ever unremember though, who forced the conversation. Enoch and a family of kids from the margins of modern society, practicing a faith, also from the Irish margins. One that we all snigger and sniffle at from time to time. I, for one, though, will never forget that this is what it took to get a sit down with our betters and have a long overdue chat about the pros and cons of calling a boy a girl or even a “they”, and vice versa, in an Irish classroom setting. What way that discussion goes from here is still up for grabs but at least now we will have it.
There is a curiosity about my few old friends that remain. A curiosity that I no longer believe to be an accidental quirk of fate. Over the years, and over the different troubles I’ve found myself mired in, the few long-standing friends that have stuck with me from a misspent life are the ones with a superior moral clarity to my own. Indeed, I am drawn to having at least a few of those people somewhere in my vicinity at any one time. I have noted this oddity in myself but never really understood why this might be. I can’t speak for their reasons, but for me, at least one element seems to be that they’ve been like lighthouses, within lasooing distance, when the tempest of my actions have raged at their most furious. A compass to find my way home.
One such friend made me aware of the Burkes about four or five months ago and as I have tracked their public movements and causes in the interim period I don’t mind admitting that the semi-recovering degenerate in me has fallen half in love with them. While you might describe some of my friends with a functioning moral compass as people with undergraduate, degree level moral clearness the Burkes seem to be engaged in field research for a PHD.
In fact, it wasn’t Enoch who came onto my radar first, but rather, Enoch’s sister Ammi. She made Irish headlines over her dismissal from global legal giants Arthur Cox. If we take a few moments to reflect on what happened to her it will add vital context to understanding Enoch’s position and the moral positioning of this family as a whole.
The key point in Ammi’s travails is that she wasn’t dismissed from her job because she was a terrible lawyer, for all the Burke children, as Wikipedia noted above, share a common attribute besides their moral clarity. High intellectual ability. Arthur Cox admitted as much about Ammi in their proceedings defending their actions and reported on by the Irish Independent.
“Ammi’s legal skills are not in question… but there’s so much more needed to be a success in a law firm,” a partner told the Workplace Relations commission earlier in the year.
Full article: here
Ammi it would seem fell foul of three of the six senior partners in the firm’s banking division. No mean feat for a newly qualified legal eagle. This trouble, again, as reported by the Irish Independent in March, was due to her interactions and communications with those partners.
“The firm lost trust and confidence in the complainant as an employee and solicitor because of the nature and content of those communications,”
Oh to be a fly on the wall to overhear a Burke chew up a few globalist partners in Arthur Cox’s banking division. I’d probably pay cash money, as we say in the west, for that type of entertainment. And splash out for an extra large box of popcorn and a headset. As I lay back on one of Arthur Cox’s ergonomically perfect desk chairs, with the feet up on the coffee-dock, and eyes closed. Listening on loop, to the sweet music of Ammi Burke ripping these same partners a new one.
Of course, the key six words in the above partner’s quote are:
“ But there’s so much more needed “
That is the meat on the bone. For now Arthur Cox are dipping their toes into the area of corporate culture of global businesses. In less fruity language Ammi Burke didn’t fit in. Of course, the glorious hypocrisy of woke culture is that it supposedly champions not only women in the workplace but that dreaded diversity word. One might make a good argument that Ammi Burke’s problem was that she was too diverse, too woman and so a very inconvenient problem for the hollow halls of the partners offices. Obviously that is just my opinion now.
Anyway, Arthur Cox decided to rid themselves of the Burke problem thru dismissal. But it was what Arthur Cox did next that raised the antennae of my friend who conveniently is also a solicitor. They paid her handsomely off. Now, again, let’s get straight exactly what Arthur Cox did from a partner horse’s mouth. She was terminated in line with her contract – and the firm then “furnished” her with three months’ pay, €17,500, plus an ex-gratia payment of €70,000 – which he said Ammi Burke “accepted and retained to this day”.
The 70,000 euro ex gratia payment is the shot of oil you give to a rusty gate to ensure it closes smoothly behind the person exiting the building. There was no onus on Arthur Cox to do it. However, the sum was high enough to suggest that if Ammi took an unfair dismissal case she might well have received a compensation package near the maximum available to someone with her level of time served in a company. At any rate, Arthur Cox weren’t taking any chances or so they thought, by giving her this very substantial settlement package. The loop-hole, and no doubt someone in Arthur Cox is probably getting their arse dragged over hot coals for the oversight is that Ammi Burke wanted her reputation back. And she still had one legal avenue open to pursue it thru the Workplace Relations Commission. Ammi demanded, and is still demanding, re-instatement to her job. No doubt, if she is ultimately successful, Ammi will hand her notice in on day one and leave. But leave with her reputation restored and Arthur Cox’s hugely damaged.
99.9% of people in Ammi’s position, especially at her age, would have taken the money, ran, and gone travelling for a year or some such lark. Then come back and slowly rebuilt their reputation and career far from the madding crowd.
At various points through her proceedings through the Workplace Relations Commission and then into the High Court the whole family put their shoulder to the wheel and a judge famously threatened to turn off her microphone if Ammi didn’t stop interrupting. They are a pretty vocal and fiery bunch when they get the bit between their teeth. It was at this juncture that my old college friend called me to tell me about this case and these Burkes. Indeed, I rang him again last night to confirm my own remembrances of that conversation which were:
“ You’ve got to write about these Burkes, they’re whip-smart, they won’t back down and she could win in the end. It will take awhile and they’ll try and drag her through the shit but she has a point. These Burke’s always have a good point despite the histrionics. It’s terrible publicity for Arthur Cox and all these supposed gender values“
In the current Enoch situation and Ammi’s entanglements with Arthur Cox there is evidence that this is a family that will fight to the death on points of principle and belief. Another point of commonality between them both is that they have zero embarrassment chips in their psychological make-ups. Whether you agree with their principles or beliefs is quite a different matter entirely. However, in Enoch’s case in particular he’s walking a path, temporarily at least, that the majority of ordinary Irish citizens are in somewhat agreement about. Of course, the headlines in the daily papers have not as yet pointed to this inconvenient fact. The Examiner ran a headline yesterday from one of its star columnists that read:
The world tires of keeping up with the Burkes
Not only is that not true it should read:
The world tires of having to rely on the Burkes
Over the last few months as I’ve dipped into some of the public history and battles of this family I frequently get a flashing image of a long forgotten US six part mini-series. It eventually got piped into Ireland in the 1980s. It was called the Manion’s of America and it was the break-out TV role for Irish actor Pierce Brosnan who later went on to become the first Irish James Bond. I couldn’t quite put my finger on why such a thing would resonate with me in relation to thoughts about this family. And I can barely remember most of it so I dived into a bit of research to help refresh my memory.
The series tells the story of a proud Irish farmer, Rory O’Manion who emigrates to America, tired of English repression and the Great Famine of the 1840s. The lead character works hard and his name rises to some eminence. The age old tension between Ireland and England is never far from the front of his mind though and is beautifully off-set by the apparent contradiction of the love story between him, and the love of his life, Rachel, an Englishwoman with refinement and civilized intelligence.
Perhaps there is something in the hot-tempered and obsessive nature of Brosnan’s character in this role that is the initial connection point. A zealous political activist and at times an overly self-righteous man. Probably though the explanation is far simpler and one I have written about previously. It’s the distinctly Irish immigration tale, the Irish heroes journey if you will, faced by almost every generation of impoverished Irishman and Irish woman since the Famine and before. A heroes journey stamped into our collective DNA where we as a nation set sail from this country with our old world values and poverty to the new world in search of a modest fortune. Our empty pockets filled with the only tradeable currency available to us. Our wits, guile and good-humor. Like many, the lead character’s hot tempered virtue was at times compromised through personal and historical circumstances and weakness was exposed. How far will we compromise ourselves for that modest fortune becomes the question.
The last twenty years has seen involuntary immigration almost cease. Bar some hiccups in the 2008- 2012 era. Instead what has happened is that the new world has come flooding into the Irish country-side like a burst river bank. The heroes journey no longer requires a long boat ride across the North Atlantic ocean. The first steps begin right outside your doorstep. Maybe that is the resonance with this twenty something gang of Burke siblings. They in someway recognise this fact. An oddity in their generation arriving fresh and perhaps unworldly but ready to fight and rail against the new world order of Irish woke ideology. I have no clue as to whether they will win all or any of their battles with the world and I don’t even know if I agree with half of what comes out of their mouths. But I know that I am quietly rooting for them on their heroes journey. They have intellects matched with a will to win and the courage to remain steadfast in their beliefs. Which in any endeavor is a fearsome combination. They’ll make their opponents reveal the courage behind their convictions too and we will get to see what, if anything, lies beneath them. That is no small benefit to Irish society.
Castlebar, the town of the Burkes, is a place of historical political fiefdoms. Initially through PJ Flynn and then Enda Kenny who rose to the highest office in the land. The first a poster boy for cute hoor politics and shady political donations. The second opened the doors fully to vulture funds and vampiric globalism in all its facets. Both partially responsible for the destination and culture we now find ourselves in and the jail cell Enoch Burke now finds himself sitting in. There would be a certain symmetry if one of these Burke’s landed into the political arena in that town at the next election.
I sure hope one of them does.
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Fair play to the entire family. I too would ho to jail if they tried to make me say a boy is a girl. Our eyes do not lie.
Might not agree with them in all their beliefs but I would back them in defending those beliefs.