GAEILGEOIRÍ in Antrim town are crowdfunding for a new Irish medium naiscoil on land owned by the GAA at Dunsilly.
The proposals will be a first step in bringing areas such as Antrim town and nearby Randalstown into line with other areas across the island when it comes to Irish language based education and follows on from the growth in the language across the county including Crumlin, Ballycastle and Glengormley.
It is hoped that once the school opens, it will attract families from the wider Antrim area and will eventually lead to the establishment of a stronger Irish speaking community within the town.
Gaelscoil Aontroma vice-chairman Gearóid Mac Aoidh said that the community saw a significant increase in interest in Irish Medium Education when Bunscoil na Tamhnai Móire in Randalstown became an Irish Medium School.
"We hope to build on that familiarity with IME which some communities already have," he said.
"For those who are new to IME, we would encourage them to contact us to find out more.
"Irish Medium Education has for years now been the fastest growing sector in our education system.
"There are many reasons for that but one really important reason is the cognitive advantages children have from being fluent in not one, but two languages from an early age.
"We hope Antrim will respond to this initiative and that the Irish language will once again be part of the educational and linguistic landscape of the town."
To donate to their fundraising efforts, visit their gofundme page.
