'Anti-Irish language leaflets made us more determined to learn'

An Irish-language teacher whose class was targeted with leaflets saying "English is our mother tongue" has said the incident made people more determined to learn.

Aoife Nic Giolla Cheara, 22, runs a free weekly Irish class at a pub in Belfast city centre.

In December, her students discovered leaflets placed on their cars which said that most Irish people "should hate the Irish language".

Police investigated the flyers as a "hate incident" but later said no offences were committed.

Ms Nic Giolla Cheara, from west Belfast, grew up speaking Irish and said she felt "hurt" by what happened because the language is "all I've ever known".

"When somebody says to me that there is no reasoning, there is no purpose, there is no need for it, it hurts," she said.

The incident happened outside the bar on Dublin Road, where the Irish class was taking place.

In a lengthy message, the flyers said the government "should respect the will of the Irish people not to speak Irish".

Flyers opposing the Irish language were placed on cars around the Dublin Road

Aoife Nic Giolla Cheara, an Irish speaker who teaches the language in a Belfast pub