Key points after week 16 of Noah Donohoe inquest

Need to know Key points after week 16 of Noah Donohoe inquest The long-running inquest into the death of the 14-year-old is being heard with a jury at Belfast Coroner's Court 19:53, 22 May 2026 Fiona Donohoe, the mother of 14-year-old Noah Donohoe, leaves Belfast Coroner's Court on Monday (Image: Liam McBurney/PA Wire) On Monday, the Noah Donohue inquest heard that there may have been “missed” opportunities to assess the public risk of a water tunnel entrance as part of refurbishments carried out three years before the boy died. Noah was found more than 600 metres downstream from where he had last been seen close to the culvert inlet behind houses at Northwood Road in north Belfast . Experts were quizzed at the inquest about whether it was “reasonably foreseeable” that the underground tunnel could pose a risk to the public. The long-running inquest , which has just finished its 16th week, heard further evidence on Monday from from civil engineer Brian Pope and risk assessment expert Dr Mark Cooper who were shown photos of the debris screen replaced in 2017 and an earlier debris screen in an undated photo. Dr Cooper said there were “missed” opportunities in relation to the risk posed by the culvert – most notably during the 2017 refurbishment to consider wider health and safety issues – and said there was no consideration given in 2017 to the risk of unauthorised access. He said there was an “absence of a risk assessment and an absence of a consideration of the public safety concern, which is my area of interest, and nobody seemed terribly concerned that there wasn’t a risk assessment in place”. Noah's inquest heard on Tuesday how it is possible that the young boy could have been caught by a later tidal cycle than experts had earlier suggested. Professor Carolyn Roberts, who is a water and environment consultant, has previously said Noah may have died during high tide around midnight, the inquest at Belfast Coroner’s Court heard. Prof Roberts was instructed by the coroner’s service to look into the case on the basis that it was believed that Noah had entered that storm drain around by the time that he was last seen at around 6pm on June 21 2020. Brenda Campbell KC, counsel to Noah’s mother Fiona Donohoe, pointed out there had been reports of “noises” and activity between midnight and 3.30am in the area. Ms Campbell suggested that maybe Noah could have gone into the culvert after the first tide cycle and remained above the tidal zone for several cycles. Prof Roberts said she was not aware of these reports and described herself as being “very mindful” when she does these investigations of “post hoc rationalisation”. She added she tries not to take on board any evidence that is outside her area of expertise. The jury was also last week shown CCTV footage of some of Noah's last-known movements. Clips showing Noah cycling through Belfast city centre on June 21, 2020 shortly before his disappearance as well as leaving the building where he lived were among footage shown at the coroner’s court on Wednesday. Forensic video analyst Jake Blythe was questioned as an expert witness over the clips which he had examined and produced two reports on after being instructed by solicitors acting for Noah’s mother Fiona. The first report focused on seven sightings of Noah cycling along York Street from its junction with Donegall Street, past the then under construction Ulster University campus to the junction with Frederick Street on the evening of June 21. Mr Blythe told the inquest that Noah could be seen wearing the rucksack in the first five clips, but he could not conclusively say if he had still had the rucksack in the sixth and seventh clips due to the quality of the footage. In his second report, Mr Blythe analysed footage from Melville Morgan Funeral Directors on York Road, close to where Noah is believed to have turned left to Skegoneill Avenue before continuing to Northwood Drive where he was later seen on CCTV. It also had clips from CCTV in the apartment complex where Noah lived. These included showing Noah leaving the building at 3.34am the night before he went missing, wearing flipflops, shorts and a white T-shirt, with earphones. He returned shortly after 4am without his flipflops and was not seen at the door again until he left with his bike around 5.45pm. Mr Blythe said he was satisfied the footage from the apartment complex was a complete recording of relevant movements. Meanwhile, the former manager of Melville Morgan Funeral Directors recalled York Street being “black with people” out searching for Noah. Roberta Boyd, who was approached for a statement this year, said she recalled three plain-clothed police officers visiting and requesting to view CCTV footage and downloading footage, and assumed it was for sightings of Noah. However, the PSNI has indicated they have no record of CCTV being seized from these premises for the investigation into Noah’s disappearance. The only record they have of any CCTV being seized from those premises was on June 11 2020 by detectives from the rape crime unit regarding an entirely unrelated matter. The inquest previously heard that police visited looking for CCTV relating to Noah, but did not find any. Ms Boyd responded saying: “All I can remember is someone came in during the week Noah was missing and asked to look at CCTV, and I gave them access to it. If they’re stating that the CCTV was taken on June 11 and they have records of that, I can’t dispute that.” The inquest is set to resume on Tuesday morning. 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