Galway Circuit Court, 18-20 June 2019
From the 18th to the 20th of June 2019, Galway Circuit Court will hear the linked cases of Isaac Burke, Kezia Burke, Enoch Burke, Ammi Burke -v- NUI Galway. This follows a Court ruling in December 2018 which overturned a key portion of the previous decision at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC).
Back in 2014, the Burkes were banned for life from all student societies at NUI Galway. The unprecedented and shock ruling is believed to have been the first of its kind in the history of the university. It came after the four Christian students had lodged over a dozen complaints with university authorities regarding bullying, harassment and intimidation of Christian students on campus.
The Burkes claim that NUI Galway discriminated against them on the grounds of their religious beliefs, and also that NUI Galway victimised them. In 2017, Adjudication Officer Louise Boyle dismissed most of the Burkes’ claims at the WRC. She asserted that the Burkes had not complied with the statutory time limits and notification requirements for the lodging of claims.
But on the 17th of December 2018, Judge Petria McDonnell at Galway Circuit Court overturned a key portion of the Adjudication Officer’s decision. Referring to “the interests of natural justice for the claimants”, Judge McDonnell exceptionally dispensed with the notification requirement in relation to the lifetime ban and allowed the Burkes to proceed with their claims against the university.
In making her ruling, Judge McDonnell stated that she was “taking into account … the timing, the severity and the duration of the decision reached by [NUI Galway] and its significant impact on the complainant[s]”.
The Burkes’ claims in relation to the lifetime ban will now proceed to a full hearing at Galway Circuit Court this month. The dates allocated for the cases are the 18th, 19th and 20th of June 2019. The proceedings are open to the public.
Further updates will be posted over the coming days on this website and on social media.
