'My friend Noah Donohoe was one in a million' inquest hears

A school friend of Belfast schoolboy Noah Donohoe has described him as "one in a million".

The body of the 14-year-old was found in a storm drain in north Belfast on 27 June 2020, six days after he went missing.

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

Jay Tierney, who was a fellow pupil at St Malachy's College on the Antrim Road in Belfast, was giving evidence at the inquest into his friend's death.

He described Noah as a "very popular" and "very caring" friend who was "very happy" with the life he had.

He also spoke about Noah's experience during Covid-19 lockdown, saying his friend had some "rough passages " but he insisted that he never believed anything Noah was thinking "was bad".

He also said Noah was a "crazy" and "eccentric" young person but "never in a bad way".

He said he was "just a very funny 14-year-old kid" who was always open to new ideas "and trying to make sense of things".

The inquest also heard about social media messages received by the witness from Noah a week before his disappearance.

Noah Donahoe had referred to his "emotions and mental health" and how he felt he had been "in denial" and wanted to be "honest" about everything and about himself.

Jay Tierney, who said he considered himself Noah's best friend, said he regarded these messages as positive and he added: "I don't see this as being a negative thing at all".

He told the inquest that he could not speculate on what prompted the messages but said he didn't believe it was about Noah's sexuality.

Earlier, in a statement to the PSNI which he read as evidence to the inquest, he said, "Noah was definitely straight".

When asked specifically if he thought Noah may have been struggling with his sexuality, he replied: "Not at all."

Commenting on other messages, while they were trying to make arrangements to meet after being kept apart during lockdown, in which Noah described his mood as being "up and down", the witness said he didn't really "take a lot from this".

He said Noah seemed positive afterwards.

The witness also referred to meeting Noah the day before his disappearance and how Noah was referring to "the book".

The book in question was '12 Rules for Life' by the author, Jordan Peterson, and Jay Tierney said it was "the focus of conversation".

But he stressed that he was not surprised at Noah's interest in content contained in the book because he was a very inquisitive person.

He also described Noah as "the most intelligent human being I have ever met".

The inquest was also shown a social media message from Noah to his mother, Fiona, a week before his disappearance, in which he said, "risks must be taken", adding that "the greatest risk is doing nothing.

During his evidence, Jay Tierney said that he believed Noah's reference to risks was about exploring and doing new things because of his intelligence and his inquisitiveness.

He also described their friendship group as, "very nerdy kids".

The Principal of St Malachy's College, Deirdre McCusker, told the inquest that Noah was one of the top academic achievers in his year group.

She said he was "very academic" and "embodied the ethos of the school".

She also told the hearing about concerns raised by Noah's mother a week before his disappearance.

She said Fiona Donohoe contacted the school saying she was worried about her son's mood not being as good as usual.

McCusker said she did not consider the issue as being unusual given his age group at the time as well as the Covid-19 lockdown.

She said the school offered counselling and Noah's mother said she would speak to her son about it to gauge his response.

Noah's cello teacher at the school, Andrew Nesbitt, described him as "an exceptional student".

He told the inquest that he had never taught a student who had "progressed as well as Noah".

The inquest also heard that Noah had been invited to join an Irish traditional group on a tour to Philadelphia in March 2020, because of his talent, but the trip was cancelled due to Covid-19.

The inquest is now in its second week.

Noah disappeared after cycling to the Shore Road in north Belfast from his home at Fitzroy Avenue in south Belfast in the afternoon of 21 June 2020.

The last reported sighting of him was at around 18:00 BST that evening.

Noah's disappearance prompted a major search operation with hundreds of people from across Belfast involved.

His body was found downstream in a storm drain on 27 June.

His mother has led a high-profile campaign for answers around her son's death.

She is being supported by family members, and her solicitor Niall Murphy.

Her counsel, Brenda Campbell KC, told a preliminary hearing last year that Ms Donohoe wanted a "full and fearless" inquest into her son's death.