BOY (2) DIES AFTER CHOKING ON FRUIT Desperate battle to save tragic toddler
THE High Court has ruled that teacher Enoch Burke should be fined €700 for every day he refuses to comply with a court order to stay away from a secondary school.
Mr Justice Brian O’Moore said he was giving Mr Burke, who was purportedly dismissed from the school last week after a disciplinary hearing, until today to decide if he wishes to comply with the order directing him to stay away from Wilson’s Hospital School in Co Westmeath.
Mr Burke was jailed for 108 days, before being released without purging his contempt before Christmas, over his refusal to comply with the order.
Following his release, he was warned by Mr Justice O’Moore that his liberty depended on his compliance with the order to stay away from the school.
And Mr Burke yesterday blasted the ruling to fine him €700 per day as a “stain on this nation, a stain on our land and a stain on our country’s
A TODDLER boy has died in what’s believed to be a tragic choking accident.
The child, who was aged just two, passed away at a house in Skibbereen, Co Cork on Wednesday evening and details are only now emerging.
The alarm was raised at around 9pm on Wednesday when the child got into difficulty at the family home in an estate in the town. history”.
Speaking outside the school, he said: “We’re at a time in this country where people are at their wit’s end. With the cost of everything, as we know, the cost of fuel, the cost of putting bread on the table, clothes on children’s backs, grocery bills going up.
“I am a young teacher, I’ve spent the last four years scraping together what I have for a house deposit and many others are like that also.”
Assets
Wilson’s Hospital returned to court seeking orders to either sequestering or removing Mr Burke’s assets or fine him over his repeated refusal to comply with the order since the start of the new school term.
Mr Justice O’Moore said that in light of the ongoing refusal a daily fine was “the correct response”. Mr Burke, he said, had “made it plain that he will continue to disobey the order” made last September.
In light of the ongoing contempt, “further measures needed to be taken,” the judge added.
The judge said that the daily fine of €700 or €4,900 per week is to be imposed on Mr Burke, commencing from today.
This figure “should persuade Mr Burke to end his utterly pointless attendance at a school that does not want him at its property,” the judge said.
If the fine does not have the desired effect, it can always be increased, the judge added.
The judge agreed that returning Mr Burke to prison was “not immediately attractive.”
The court also said that it did not believe that the sequestration of Mr Burke’s assets would result in the teacher’s compliance with the court’s order.
The judge said that the matter will be reviewed on February 10 next and that he also proposed to deal with the issue of who is to pay the legal costs of the slew of court hearings.
Emergency services rushed to the scene and fought to save the little boy, but he died at the scene.
It is believed the child passed away after having difficulty swallowing a piece of fruit.
has learned that his family are from abroad and had only recently moved to the area.
Gardai have confirmed that the boy’s death is not being treated as suspicious.
Residence
A spokesman told us: “Shortly after 9pm, on Wednesday 25th January 2023, Gardai attended at a domestic residence in Skibbereen, Co. Cork, following the sudden death of a male toddler.
“The Coroner has been notified and a post-mortem will be held at Cork University Hospital.
“Gardaí are currently treating the death as a tragic accident and foul play is not suspected.
“Owing to the tragic nature of the incident, no further information is available.”
“We know the damage here and my client made full and frank admissions. We are dealing with a very vulnerable man here.”
The accused confirmed he was seen by a prison doctor but not a psychiatrist or psychologist.
Sergeant Jim Collins said a ‘skeleton file’ had been sent to the DPP but Gardai would endeavour to expedite the matter.
Judge Cunningham said she was reiterating her order for McGinley to get both psychiatric and psychological treatment.
The case was adjourned until February 1.