About Patrick McCarthy, Owner of Patrick's English Academy

Privacy policy

Last Updated: 19 November 2025

1. Introduction

Patrick’s English (“we”, “us”, “our”) is committed to protecting your personal data and respecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, and protect your information when you visit patricksenglish.ie (the “Site”), communicate with us, or use our services.
 We comply fully with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and all applicable Irish data protection laws.

2. Who We Are (Data Controller)

Patrick’s English: 30 South Terrace, Cork, Ireland
Email: info@patricksenglish.ie
Phone: +353 21 2019342

We are the Data Controller responsible for your personal data.

3. What Personal Data We Collect

We may collect and process the following information:

3.1 Information You Provide

  • Name 
  • Email address 
  • Phone number 
  • Any information sent via our contact form 
  • Messages sent to us through our WhatsApp chat widget 

3.2 Automatically Collected Data

When you visit the Site, we may collect:

  • IP address 
  • Browser type and version 
  • Device information 
  • Pages visited and time spent on the Site 
  • Cookie data (see our Cookie Policy) 

4. How We Collect Your Data

We collect your data when:

  • You send a WhatsApp message via the widget on our Site 
  • You submit a contact form 
  • You sign up for updates or request information 
  • You browse the Site, which triggers analytics tools and cookies 

5. Why We Use Your Data (Purposes of Processing)

We use your personal data to:

  • Respond to enquiries and provide customer support 
  • Communicate with you about services, classes, or courses 
  • Process enrolments or service requests 
  • Improve the performance and usability of our website 
  • Ensure the security and integrity of our systems 
  • Comply with legal obligations 

6. Legal Bases for Processing

Under GDPR, we rely on the following legal bases:

  • Consent – when you voluntarily contact us (e.g., WhatsApp, email, forms) 
  • Legitimate Interests – to operate our website, improve user experience, and respond to enquiries 
  • Performance of a Contract – when processing data necessary to deliver our English language services 
  • Legal Obligation – where required to comply with Irish or EU law 

7. WhatsApp Chat Widget

We use a WhatsApp chat widget to allow visitors to contact us quickly.

When you use this feature:

  • Your phone number, name (if provided), and message content may be shared with us via WhatsApp 
  • Messages are processed by WhatsApp Ireland Limited / Meta Platforms, which may store or process data outside the EU 
  • WhatsApp’s own privacy policy applies in addition to ours 
  • We use this information solely to respond to your enquiry 
  • Access to WhatsApp chat records is restricted to authorised team members only 

You may request deletion of any WhatsApp conversation at any time by contacting us using the details in Section 15.

8. Sharing Your Data

We only share personal data when necessary. This may include:

  • Service providers who help us operate our website (e.g., hosting, analytics) 
  • WhatsApp/Meta Platforms via the chat widget 
  • Professional advisers (e.g., accountants, if needed for invoicing) 
  • Legal authorities if required by law or to protect our rights 

We do not sell or trade your personal data.

9. International Transfers

Some data processed by third-party tools (e.g., WhatsApp/Meta) may be stored outside the EEA.
 Where this happens, we rely on:

  • Adequacy decisions, or 
  • Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) 

These ensure your data remains protected.

10. Data Retention

We retain your personal data only for as long as necessary.

  • WhatsApp chat data: up to 6 months after last contact, unless deletion is requested sooner 
  • Contact form submissions: up to 12 months 
  • Analytics/cookie data: up to 24 months 
  • Service-related data (e.g., enrolled students): retained in line with Irish legal/accounting requirements (typically 6 years) 

11. Your Rights Under GDPR

You have the following rights:

  • Right to access your data 
  • Right to rectification of inaccurate data 
  • Right to erasure (“right to be forgotten”) 
  • Right to restrict processing 
  • Right to object to certain processing 
  • Right to data portability 
  • Right to withdraw consent at any time 
  • Right to lodge a complaint with the Irish Data Protection Commission 

Requests can be made at any time (see Section 15).

12. Data Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures, including:

  • SSL encryption 
  • Access controls 
  • Secure storage of communications 
  • Regular system and security reviews 

However, no online transmission is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute protection.

13. Children’s Privacy

The Site is not intended for individuals under 16 years of age.
 We do not knowingly collect data from children.
 If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, please contact us immediately.

14. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this policy occasionally.
 Any changes will be posted on this page with an updated “Last Updated” date.

15. Contact Us

For questions about this Privacy Policy or to exercise your GDPR rights, contact:

Patrick’s English
Email: info@patricksenglish.ie
Address: 30 South Terrace, Cork, Ireland
Phone: +353 21 2019342

BOOK/CONTACT