Ireland has hosted a major event at the United Nations in New York highlighting the importance of education for girls.

Former president of Ireland Mary Robinson and U2 frontman Bono helped launch the 'Drive for Five' campaign.

It calls for five transformative actions to get all adolescent girls into school and provide them with quality, relevant education in supportive, safe and healthy environments.

Millions of girls around the world are excluded from education.

At the event young women from countries such as Iraq and Afghanistan spoke about their personal experiences of being denied access to school.

Mrs Robinson called on governments to ensure that all girls receive 12 years of free, quality education.

"Far too many girls are out of school. If we do not empower girls through education, we can never overcome the challenges of conflict, inequality and climate change," she said.

Bono said that ensuring girls have better access to subjects like maths and science and technology will benefit the world.

"The climate crisis may be man-made but it's likely to be woman-solved," he said.

Last July, Bono and Mrs Robinson took part in another Irish event at the United Nations for the official launch of Ireland's bid for a seat on the UN Security Council.

The Government is hoping to secure a two-year term on the Security Council in 2021 with voting due to take place in June.