Fluent Irish speaker to become Belfast Lord Mayor

The next Lord Mayor of Belfast is to be fluent Irish speaker Róis-Máire Donnelly from Sinn Féin.

She said she will try to win over critics of the language during her 12 months in the top post.

"I don't use the Irish language for anything other than my love for it," she said.

Donnelly, 30, from west Belfast, is in line to replace Tracy Kelly from the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) as mayor on Monday evening.

The post changes every year and it is Sinn Féin's turn to choose the mayor.

Donnelly, from Ballymurphy, works as an operations manager in the community sector.

During her stint as mayor she is going to take a career break and put planning for her wedding on hold.

"I want to do this properly, I want to get out, I want to meet as many people as possible."

Her time in office will include the Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann - the All-Ireland Fleadh - the world's largest festival of Irish music and dance which is to take place in Belfast in August.

It will be the first time the city has hosted the event, which is likely to attract more than half a million visitors.

Donnelly said: "I'm really excited about it and it's probably one of the main reasons that I wanted to take on this role.

"I think there really is something for everyone as part of this fleadh."

Sinn Féin has been accused by some unionists in Belfast of promoting the Irish language for political reasons in their pursuit of a united Ireland.

However, Donnelly insisted the criticism was not justified.

She said: "It's not political to me when I get up in the (council) chamber and speak Irish. I speak Irish for the young people out there who don't see people like them in these types of positions.

"To me the language is positive and it's making a positive contribution to society."

She said she understood that there is "always going to be people that are opposed to the language" and that she will not "win everyone over".

"But I want to be able to show that there's vibrancy and there's positivity that comes along with the language and the contribution that it makes.

"I have a full term to do that and I want to work with people."

Donnelly admitted that the prospect of becoming mayor is "very, very daunting" but said she was excited.

"I'm really proud that I get to be the first mayor from Ballymurphy and from the wider upper Springfield area.

"I want to reach out to all of the communities throughout the city and I want to represent everyone," she said.

Donnelly attended St Dominic's Grammar School in west Belfast.

She went to an Irish language nursery and primary school even though, at the time, neither of her parents spoke Irish.

"For me the Irish language is part of who I am and it's a big part of my identity," she said.