Wilson’s Hospital secondary school in Co Westmeath, which has been in a legal row with former teacher Enoch Burke, was among the schools that won Belong To’s awards for LGBTQ+ inclusivity.

44 schools and Youthreach centres across Ireland have been recognised for their work on LGBTQ+ inclusion and wellbeing. Each institution completed an 18-month programme with Belong To and was presented with LGBTQ+ Quality Mark accreditation at a ceremony on Friday, March 14.

Welcoming the award at the ceremony, Wilson’s Hospital principal John Galligan said: “Since 2023 we have participated in the LGBTQ+ quality mark, aligning with our core values and as a school of care, community and excellence.

“We know that a supportive school environment can have a huge beneficial impact on the wellbeing of all students. Taking part in the LGBTQ+ quality mark has given us even more tools and resources to build on the good work already being done in the school to promote wellbeing, inclusion and understanding.

“We were delighted to receive the quality mark in recognition of our hard work over the past 18 months and in celebration of our whole school community.”

In the months leading up to the award, the Westmeath school has been at the centre of a legal row with one of its former teachers, Enoch Burke. The legal battle is ongoing since 2022, when Burke refused to comply with a court order mandating him to stay away from the school.

Enoch Burke was originally suspended from Wilson’s Hospital School in June 2022 after harassing the then-principal and publicly disputing a student’s use of ‘they/them’ pronouns. After repeatedly showing up at the institution despite the court order, he was jailed for the first time in September of that year.

Burke was officially dismissed from his role in January 2023 and was detained again in September after continuing to show up at the school, despite receiving daily fines. In the latest development of the legal row between Burke and the school, the High Court appointed a receiver over the former teacher’s salary to collect over €79,000 worth of fines for contempt of court.

Justice David Nolan also made a conditional garnishee over Mr Burke’s bank account in order to have the fines paid directly out of that. The order has frozen Burke’s bank account until next Tuesday, to give him time to argue that the fines should not be deducted from the account.