PSNI investigating reported assault on archbishop after confrontation with Enoch Burke

POLICE IN NORTHERN Ireland are investigating a report of an assault on a member of the clergy following a confrontation between Enoch Burke and Church of Ireland Archbishop John McDowell in Armagh.

Burke shared footage on social media of himself confronting the archbishop at St Patrick’s Church of Ireland Cathedral on Thursday, grabbing his arm and hand during the encounter.

In a statement, a PSNI spokesperson said that police “are investigating a report of an assault on a member of the clergy at St Patrick’s Church of Ireland Cathedral in Armagh on Thursday”.

“Police enquiries are ongoing,” the spokesperson added.

The statement did not name the person alleged to have been assaulted or identify a suspect.

McDowell is the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland. 

During the encounter, Burke challenged the archbishop over his response to Burke’s dispute with Wilson’s Hospital School in Co Westmeath.

The encounter ended with the archbishop and the cathedral’s dean entering the See House, his residence.

Advertisement

The footage was shared on Burke’s X account and his brother Josiah’s YouTube account.

The confrontation came on the same day the High Court ordered Burke to provide a statement of his means within three weeks, as a judge considers further measures to recover outstanding court fines.

Judge Brian Cregan imposed a further €30,000 in fines over Burke’s breaches of an injunction preventing him from trespassing at the school, bringing his outstanding fines to €238,268.18.

The judge also amended an arrest and imprisonment order so that it would apply only if Burke appeared at or within 100 metres of the school.

The court heard that Burke had not attended the school since the arrest order was made earlier this month.

Burke has previously spent more than 700 days in prison across five separate periods of imprisonment for contempt of court. He was most recently released on 1 July after the school year ended.

A permanent injunction preventing him from entering the school grounds without the board’s consent remains in place.

Burke maintains that the dispute arises from his religious opposition to an instruction to address a transgender student by their preferred pronouns.

Judges have repeatedly said his imprisonment concerns his refusal to obey court orders to stay away from the school.

Additional reporting from Diarmuid Pepper