Mobilise for Noah

“IF you are able to go, we will get you there”, that’s the pledge from a Strabane councillor who is organising a convoy of free buses from Strabane to Belfast to allow people to attend a protest in support of the Donohoe family.

Cllr Raymond Barr is calling on any one who can make the trip to Belfast to get in touch and a place will be found for you on the bus. Already two 53 seater buses are full, and a third is well on its way.

The protest will take place at Belfast City Hall at 1pm on Saturday. It’s aim is to put pressure on the Secretary of State, Shailesh Vare to quash a Public Interest Immunity (PII) certificate he granted in the case of Noah Donohoe (inset picture). The 14-year-old went missing from his home in Belfast in June 2020. His naked body was found in a storm drain in North Belfast six days later. His family have received no explanation or information from the police about what happened to him in his final hours.

Noah’s mum Fiona, who comes from Lisnafin has called for the Secretary of State to reverse his decision. This call was backed last week by hundreds of people in Strabane who attended a protest outside the town’s police station, and now it is hoped they will make their way to Belfast on Saturday to support Fiona again,

Fiona’s sister Niamh says the support from Strabane has seen the family through some of their darkest days. Urging people to come to Belfast on Saturday she said, “As always the swell of support has been overwhelming. Since the protest in Strabane a week ago the momentum keeps gathering. This is exactly what we need. People feel the injustice, they are angry at what is happening and rightly so. When people come together like this the impact it has on decision makers can be profound. Regardless of what is or isn’t contained in the sensitive files – there is so much more at stake here. All we want is the truth, if an inquest doesn’t give us that we will seek a public inquiry, and we need people to stand with us in order to obtain that. We will do whatever it takes for Noah. In doing this we ultimately hope to prevent any other child and family suffering as we have, so it means so much that people are giving up their time to come and support on Saturday. Thank you to everyone for carrying us through and showing solidarity, you will never understand how much it means to Fiona and myself. It keeps us going through the dark days.”

If you would like to travel on the free bus from Strabane on Saturday call Cllr Raymond Barr on 07775920088 or contact him through Facebook. The buses will leave Home Bargains car park at 10am and return at 5pm. The cost of transport is being picked up by a number of local businesses along with the Hillsborough Justice Campaign Liverpool and Works Coffee Roasters in Belfast.