Mr Burke claimed the ruling was “a grave and monumental error that a man who champions the 'they' pronoun will be allowed to chair a panel inquiry into me”. 

The teacher had applied before a hearing on Wednesday for both Mr Pike and the panel to stand down from overseeing the inquiry on grounds of objective bias.

He was suspended by Wilson’s Hospital in 2022 and later dismissed by the Co Westmeath school last month over his refusal to follow a direction to address a student by a new name as well as the pronouns “they” and “them” as well as his subsequent conduct with the principal.

The German and history teacher, who has spent over 700 days in prison over his refusal to obey court orders, maintains the request went against his religious beliefs as an evangelical Christian.

Announcing the panel’s decision on Friday, Mr Pike said the panel would not and could not be required to make any findings regarding the lawfulness of instructions given to Mr Burke regarding the use of pronouns or any issues of religious freedom.

The chairperson said the test for objective bias was whether a reasonable and informed observer would have a reasonable apprehension a decision-maker would not be able to give the matter an impartial hearing.

Mr Pike said the panel had noted the apprehension of the affected party was “not relevant”. The panel determined there was no rational, cogent or logical connection between matters raised by Mr Burke and the apprehension he would not get an impartial hearing.

Social media posts

The teacher had cited three social media posts by Mr Pike as alleged proof of his bias in an inquiry which he had described as “a hypocritical witch hunt”. They included one in which Mr Pike posted “another Enoch float” on his X (formerly Twitter) account on March 17, 2023, together with a link for a video from a St Patrick’s Day parade which “mocked and parodied” him.

Mr Pike said a reasonable person would be aware St Patrick’s Day floats portraying Mr Burke were “a national phenomenon at the relevant time”, with extensive coverage not only on social media but also in print and broadcast media.

He observed it was also over a year and a half before a complaint against Mr Burke was considered by the Teaching Council.

The teacher had also criticised another tweet by Mr Pike from July 2018, in which he recommended  anyone with an interest in mental health, addiction, or LGBT issues should follow the account of Neville Southall, the former Everton and Wales goalkeeper, as it was “the most positive Twitter feed I have seen”. 

Mr Pike said the panel had concluded any reasonable person would be aware Mr Southall allowed his Twitter feed to highlight various topics not limited to transgender issues.

He pointed out he had not described any individual posts by Mr Southall as positive but rather the feed.

Mr Pike said claims by Mr Burke that he had a “radical viewpoint” and advocated the use of the “they” pronoun on social media as well as criticising those who refused to use that pronoun were “simply inaccurate”. 

The teacher also took issue with a retweet by Mr Pike on November 27, 2025 — a few days after he had been returned to prison — about Wilson’s Hospital by someone whom he claimed went out of their way to oppose his [Burke’s] position.

However, Mr Pike said the original post was by an individual student reporting a positive experience with SNAs which contained no reference the school was Wilson’s Hospital.

Complaints of lack of independence

The panel also rejected the separate application by Mr Burke that it should recuse itself from the case over complaints about its lack of independence as well as decisions taken during the preliminary stage of the inquiry, including the role of its legal assessor, Lorna Lynch SC.

The teacher had complained he had received correspondence on behalf of the inquiry panel from the legal firm, Fieldfisher, which acts for the director of the Teaching Council.

However, Mr Pike said that was incorrect, as any communication from the panel was through the regulatory body’s secretariat, which was allowed under its rules.

He said the panel’s legal assessor had intervened at preliminary hearings to ensure the teacher was given an opportunity to make submissions or ask questions.

Mr Burke said a criticism by Mr Burke that the panel’s two other members — Adrian Guinan and Clodagh O’Hara — did not contribute at preliminary hearings because they did not ask him questions was “simply incorrect”. 

He said decisions taken at preliminary hearings in relation to hearing of the evidence of a witness in private and postponing the date of a full hearing were “fairly and properly made”, although Mr Burke might not agree with them.

Mr Pike said the inquiry panel would allow both Mr Burke and the Teaching Council to consider their ruling and asked the parties to indicate next week what the next steps in the process would be.

Mr Burke, who attended the remote hearing via video link from Castlerea Prison, had his microphone muted after he started to describe the ruling as a “grave and monumental error”. 

Mr Pike informed the teacher the panel was not taking representations on its ruling “at this point in time.”