A former regional journalist who edited an Irish language newspaper and was considered an “expert” in the Gaelic tongue has died aged 77.

Tributes have been paid to Sean Mac Aindreasa, pictured, who worked on the Andersonstown News, in Belfast.

Sean also served as editor of the Irish language newspaper La, and co-founded Northern Ireland’s first Irish language school, Bunscoil Phobal Feirste, in 1971.

He also helped set up what was then Ireland’s only urban Gaeltacht, an Irish speaking area, in Belfast in the late 1960s.

His son Seamus said on Sunday, the day his father died: “We’re heartbroken today, but my father left this world as he lived it – with music, laughter and, of course, a drink for the road.”

A spokesperson for Bunscoil Phobal Feirste added: “He was one of Belfast’s most fluent Irish speakers if not the best and he was an expert in native Irish music.

“We offer our condolences to the Mac Aindreasa family.”

According to an obituary in the Belfast Telegraph, Sean was also well-known for his singing and enjoyed traditional Irish music.

Sean is survived by his children Colm, Caitlín, Séamus and Alastair, and his grandchildren, Aoibhinn, Maedhbh, Max, Oisín, Laoise and Liam.