Death inquest postponed until next year

An inquest into the death of Belfast schoolboy Noah Donohoe has been postponed until 2026.

The body of 14-year-old Noah Donohoe was found in a storm drain in north Belfast in June 2020, almost a week after he went missing.

The inquest before a jury was due to begin on 3 November.

Brenda Campbell KC, counsel for Noah’s mother Fiona Donohoe, told a hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice in Belfast there were “significant concerns the evidence would not finish by Christmas”.

Coroner Mr Justice Rooney said it was disappointing but he hoped to be able to set a date early in 2026 to start the proceedings.

A post-mortem examination found that his death was due to drowning.

The inquest process has been protracted over the past four to five years.

Last year, a senior coroner, Joe McCrisken, recused himself from continuing to preside at the inquest.

Today’s hearing was the latest in a lengthy series of preliminary hearings into the case.

Some previous hearings have heard challenges to the granting of a public interest immunity (PII) certificate which would allow the PSNI to withhold some information from the inquest.

Several thousand people joined the schoolboy’s family at a protest about the issue in Belfast city centre in 2022.