NI's first integrated Irish language pre-school to open in east Belfast

Northern Ireland's first integrated Irish language pre-school is on its way to opening its doors in September.

Naíscoil na Seolta - which translates to 'nursery of the sails' - has received funding of almost £80,000 and will be located in east Belfast.

The venue is yet to be decided, but it will be the first Irish nursery school to be established there.

Natalie McDowell, who is learning the language and her husband, says she wants their daughter to have every opportunity in life.

"We come from what would probably be called the traditionally Protestant background, not that we're really into labels, but we never got the opportunity to learn Irish as we were growing up, and it's something we felt maybe we missed out on," she told UTV.

"Whenever we had our little girl, we really felt that we wanted to give her every opportunity, especially with Northern Ireland changing so much, just to experience maybe a wider range of culture, so the idea of being integrated but also her learn Irish really appealed to us."