A NI shop’s Valentine’s Day card featuring a tongue-in-cheek reference to the Enoch Burke saga has quickly become a best seller.
A Valentine’s Day card drawing inspiration from the widely publicised Enoch Burke case has swiftly become a bestseller, owing to its cheeky message.
Mr Burke, a sacked teacher, has remained in the spotlight in recent years due to an ongoing legal battle with Wilson’s Hospital School. The dispute commenced in 2022 after he refused a request from the Co Westmeath school’s then-principal to refer to a pupil by a new name and pronoun, citing his religious convictions and constitutional rights.
Despite a court order preventing him from attending the school, Mr Burke repeatedly turned up, leading to fines amounting to €225,000 and more than 550 days behind bars for violating the injunction. He has challenged his dismissal from the school and continues to receive full salary whilst the appeals process is ongoing, with those payments being redirected to cover compensation owed to the school.
In January, Mr Burke applied for a temporary injunction against the disciplinary appeals panel, raising concerns described by Mr Justice Cregan as “credible” and “substantive”. The judge temporarily freed him from Mountjoy Prison to prepare his case, but he was jailed again the next day after turning up at Wilson’s Hospital School.
Images and footage of Mr Burke outside the school rapidly circulated online, and these moments have now been transformed into a viral Valentine’s card. The card, retailing at £3.50 through Derry Nice Things, features an illustration of Mr Burke positioned outside a school alongside the verse: “Roses are red, I’m here to stay, You’ll never get rid of me, Happy Valentine’s Day.”, reports the Irish Mirror.
The shop has labelled it on social media as one of their “best sellers”.
They posted: “VALENTINE’S DAY COUNTDOWN. There’s just over two weeks to go until Valentine’s Day. Make sure you sort your other half out with a unique and locally inspired card.
“These are just some of our best-sellers and new additions, but you can explore the full collection on our website. You can also check us out in store in some of our many stockists.”
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