A St Patrick’s Day event involving the Taoiseach (Irish PM) has been disrupted by members of a high-profile evangelical Christian family from the Republic of Ireland.

Relatives of Enoch Burke were forcibly removed from the evening gala in Washington DC after heckling speeches.

Mr Burke is a teacher from County Mayo who has been in a long-running court battle after he refused to use the pronouns preferred by a student transitioning to a different gender.

It is not clear how Burke’s mother and two of his siblings entered the private gala without tickets, but the family arrived shortly after Micheál Martin gave his speech at the event.

Mr Burke has been repeatedly jailed for defying court orders to stay away from his former workplace, Wilson’s Hospital School in County Westmeath.

He was first suspended from the school in August 2022 after a public confrontation with its principal over how he should address a transgender student.

The school sought a court injunction to keep him out of its grounds during his suspension and he was eventually sacked for gross misconduct.

Mr Burke challenged his suspension and dismissal and continued to turn up to the school, despite facing large daily fines every time he breached the court order.

Members of his family have been involved in several protests inside and outside Irish courts, arguing that he is being persecuted for his religious beliefs.

The Ireland Funds Gala continued after the Burkes were removed from the event.

This year’s gala was held against the backdrop of a looming tariff war between the US and EU.

Micheál Martin used his speech to press the importance of the “two-way street” of US-Irish investment.

He said that “Ireland and the US have a significant and mutually beneficial economic relationship”.

US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose 200% tariffs on alcohol from the European Union countries. It is in retaliation against the EU bloc’s planned levies on US-produced whiskey.

In response, the taoiseach said the only way to resolve a deepening trade dispute between the US and EU is “through dialogue”.

“Ireland has grown to be in the top ten as a source of foreign direct investment into the US, supporting the jobs of hundreds of thousands of people across the US. These extraordinary numbers illustrate the importance of a positive transatlantic trading relationship,” he added.

Speaking to BBC Northern Ireland’s Sunday Politics programme at the event, Ian Paisley said the proposed alcohol tariffs could present a “significant opportunity” for Northern Irish whiskey businesses.

Mr Paisley said that while a 200% tariff would be “devastating”, he didn’t think it would be “the catastrophe people are worried about”.

“The luxury product of whiskey in Northern Ireland, and I call it Irish whiskey made in the UK, has a very unique selling point to America,” he said.

“If there are tariffs to Irish whiskey, but it doesn’t affect Northern Irish whiskey, that is a significant opportunity.”

However, Mr Paisley added that he hoped Irish trade will continue.

“Under the Trump regime, these things are negotiations,” he said.

“The bark may be worse than the bite and I don’t think it will come to a 200% tariff on Irish products.”

Mr Paisley said he believes that Donald Trump should be given a chance. He is a long-time friend of the US President, having first met him in 2003 along with his father Ian.

Trump’s son Eric has also stayed with the Paisley family in Northern Ireland.

“You tell me a world leader who doesn’t have peculiarities, we’ve got to work; if we can work together, we can hopefully get a result,” he said.

Also attending the Ireland Funds Gala was former Taoiseach, Enda Kenny.

He said that trade was always difficult between parts of the world but advised Europe “to be vigilant, be nimble, be upfront, and be strong in your beliefs and principles and hope for the best”.

A former advisor to President Trump, Patrick Wilson described the current trade discussions as “rough and tumble”.

“I don’t think Irish people are very unsurprised by that kind of negotiation, right? Like that is normal haggling that goes on. And I think you know, where we end up is where we have always been, which is that Ireland, the UK, the EU, will continue to be close allies, but they need to play fair,” he added.

Susan Davis, the President of Irish American Republicans described the current workings of the US administration as “a little bit rough on people” but believes “people will find their way out of it”.

She said she wasn’t worried about any trade dispute and believed the Taoiseach’s performance during his week in the United States was “phenomenal”.