DUBLIN, Ireland: A female secondary teacher, who was involved in a long-term relationship with a former student that began in the summer of his Leaving Certificate exams, has been banned from teaching for the next five years.

A panel from the Teaching Council decided that a 33-year-old teacher had committed professional misconduct in four ways because of her contact and relationship with an 18-year-old former student eight years ago.

The three-member panel also said her actions broke the rules in the Code of Professional Conduct for Teachers. The decision came after a six-day inquiry held between June 2025 and January 2026.

The teacher and the school cannot be publicly named. The teacher, who is now an assistant principal at another school, admitted earlier this year that she lied during the inquiry. She had first claimed she had no further contact with the student after a "one-time" sexual encounter in a hotel in August 2018.

She later said the lie got out of control. However, she denied grooming the student through Snapchat.

Two claims stated they exchanged at least one photo or video every day between June and August 2018, while the student was finishing his Leaving Certificate exams and awaiting results. She also denied being in a romantic relationship with him that summer.

Their ongoing relationship came to light when another teacher saw news reports and sent photos from her Instagram account to the Teaching Council. These showed the couple together between 2022 and 2025, including on a trip to Greece.

The case began after the school principal was informed of the relationship by the teacher's ex-partner and then reported it to the Teaching Council.

The panel chair, Fergal McCarthy, said her behavior was not suitable for a teacher's role. He said she failed to act in the student's best interests, showed poor judgment, and did not maintain a proper teacher-student relationship.

He also said her actions lacked honesty, respect, and trust, especially since the student was still developing, she was about 10 years older, and she had taught him for two years.

The panel also considered her dishonesty during the inquiry as a serious issue. McCarthy said she and the student worked together to hide their relationship, even unfollowing each other on Instagram just before the hearing.

Although she later admitted they were in a relationship and said she loved him, the panel noted that their lies wasted time and money and showed she did not fully understand the seriousness of her actions.

The panel had considered banning her from reapplying to teach for at least seven years, but reduced the ban to five years. This was because she had a clean record before and after the incident, and the relationship continued after the student finished his exams.

However, the panel said the punishment was necessary to protect the public and prevent similar behavior.