Noah Donohoe inquest ‘should be with jury’ his family says

An inquest into the death of Noah Donohoe should be heard in front of a jury, a lawyer for the schoolboy’s family has said.
By The Newsroom
Published 26th Apr 2022, 21:50 BST
Updated 26th Apr 2022, 21:58 BST
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The inquest into Noah’s death is scheduled to begin on November 28 and to run for three weeks.

The 14-year-old pupil at St Malachy’s College in Belfast, was found dead in a storm drain in north Belfast in June 2020, six days after he went missing.

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At a pre-inquest review hearing, Brenda Campbell QC, representing Noah’s mother Fiona Donohoe, raised concerns over the November date.

Fiona Donohoe, accompanied by her sister Niamh, delivers a petition to police headquarters. Fiona's son Noah Donohoe, a 14-year-old pupil at St Malachy's College in Belfast, was found dead in a storm drain in the north of the city in June 2020, six days after he went missing.Fiona Donohoe, accompanied by her sister Niamh, delivers a petition to police headquarters. Fiona's son Noah Donohoe, a 14-year-old pupil at St Malachy's College in Belfast, was found dead in a storm drain in the north of the city in June 2020, six days after he went missing.
Fiona Donohoe, accompanied by her sister Niamh, delivers a petition to police headquarters. Fiona's son Noah Donohoe, a 14-year-old pupil at St Malachy's College in Belfast, was found dead in a storm drain in the north of the city in June 2020, six days after he went missing.

She said: “We are very appreciative of the difficulties that the listing of this inquest has, we know the pressures on the court.

“The date gives us three, three-and-a-half weeks before the Christmas break and there are a very significant number of both complex and distressing issues to be considered and we are concerned that might not be enough time.”

She added: “We have not yet grappled with the issue of whether this is going to be a jury inquest.

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“In our submission it should be a matter that is considered by a jury.

“If that is the case, and we have been working on the assumption that it will be, again that inevitably adds to time and the impact of any break.”

The hearing was also told that an application from the PSNI to to prevent certain information being disclosed to the inquest would be sent to the Northern Ireland Office for approval by a minister “imminently”.

Counsel for the coroner, Sean Doran QC, said that the PSNI had completed their consideration of Public Interest Immunity (PII) certification on sensitive material.

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He said: “It remains a matter for the relevant government authority whether a PII certificate will be issued.”

Barrister for the PSNI, Donal Lunny QC, told the hearing that the deputy chief constable Mark Hamilton had examined the PII applications in “some detail” and this had prompted a “reconsideration of a number of proposed redactions”.

He added: “That work was resumed and completed yesterday and that material will be passed on to the NIO imminently. I would expect that to be done this week.”

The next pre-inquest review hearing will be held on July 1.