Key points after week 14 of Noah Donohoe inquest

Need to know Key points after week 14 of Noah Donohoe inquest The inquest into the death of the Belfast schoolboy has finished its 14th week in front of a jury 19:03, 10 May 2026 Fiona Donohoe, the mother of 14-year-old Noah Donohoe, arrives at Belfast Coroner's Court (Image: Liam McBurney/PA Wire) The storm drain where Noah Donohoe’s body was discovered was in good condition and had no history of unauthorised access, the inquest into the teenager’s death has heard. Jonathan McKee, a director in the Department for Infrastructure (DFI) , appeared at the inquest on Thursday morning. He said the drain was “relatively uncomplicated for a culvert in an urban area” and “was and is in good condition”. Mr McKee added that before June 2020 the DFI had “no record of members of the public or elected representatives reporting concerns” about the safety of a screen on the structure’s opening or about children or adults gathering at it. There was no other evidence such as graffiti or litter to suggest the pipe had been accessed, he added and said local residents are “vigilant and alert”, which would discourage unauthorised access and anti-social behaviour. Mr McKee said it was not “an abandoned area of land, out of everyone’s view, susceptible to misuse or antisocial behaviour”. On June 24 2020, after Noah’s disappearance , there was a report of unauthorised access to the drain. An official was tasked with investigating and when he arrived he was told “approximately 50 to 60 youths” had “forced entry” to the area around the culvert opening and had searched the area, Mr McKee said. The official discovered the lock on a gate from the park to the area had been cut by “something like an angle grinder”. The court was shown a picture of the cut lock and an image of where it was found upstream from the inlet screen. He replaced the lock on the gate and also put a lock on the inlet screen access hatch. Mr McKee also addressed the issue of why a screen covering the culvert was replaced after Noah’s disappearance. He said the use of screens is typically discouraged as they can become blocked, creating a flood risk, and there is also a safety risk if anyone was to fall into water and become trapped by a screen. He said when they are used, there are two different types: a security screen or a debris screen. The screen on the Premier Drive Stream inlet had been changed from a debris screen to a security screen after Noah’s death because of the installation of new valves in the culvert. “It is important to be absolutely clear the installation of security screens was not as a result of Noah’s death,” Mr McKee said. Continuing to give evidence on Friday, Mr McKee was asked in the DFI knew how many children lived in nearby houses through which there was access to the area where the culvert was. He said the department would not have needed to know that information. When asked if the hatch covering the culvert was locked after the culvert was refurbished in May 2017, and whether it was the case the old hatch was locked but the new one was not, Mr McKee said "that is possible." He was then shown emails from the department following a media request in 2020 after Noah’s death about whether the culvert hatch had been locked. Counsel for Noah’s mother Fiona Donohoe, Brenda Campbell, said: “The reality is that the department, between the 30th June and the second of July hadn’t a clue whether there was a padlock on that grille?” The witness replied: “No, it is not.” He added: “It was an absolute shock to us that Noah had lost his life in a culvert the department maintains. In those days there was a lot of media attention and freedom of information requests from people following up a story, we wanted to have the facts right as quickly as possible.” Mr McKee said the department had the view from the outset the hatch probably was not locked. Mr McKee added: “The assertion that the department didn’t have a clue is wrong.” Ms Campbell said the assertion was “entirely right” because the department still did not know for sure. He said: “We formed the view early on that it wasn’t locked and we were very open about that." The inquest continues on Monday. For all the latest news, visit the homepage here and sign up to our daily newsletter here. Follow : X (Twitter) Instagram ‌