Expert asked to look at storm drain close to where Noah died

AN expert has been commissioned to assess the potential significance of a blockage in a storm drain that has been preserved in place due to its potential evidential significance to the inquest into the death of Noah Donohoe.

At the inquest today at the Royal Courts of Justice in Belfast, the coroner Mr Justice Rooney was told that the blockage posed a ‘significant’ risk of flood.

The inquest was told that the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) has been seeking permission to remove the manhole cover.

Nessa Murnaghan KC, who is the legal representative for the department, outlined the concerns of officials.

Mrs Murnaghan said: “We are very much concerned that there is a very significant flood risk.

“And just because the flood hasn’t occurred yet doesn’t mean that it isn’t a very significant risk.”

The manhole cover is believed to have become lodged in the drain at some point between 2008 and 2010.

Brenda Campbell KC, representing Noah’s mother Fiona Donohoe, said she supports a phased approach, whereby the legal parties would first await the completion and circulation of a report, before convening again to decide what to do with the blockage.

An expert witness report examining the blockage is believed to be ‘imminent’.

The coroner said he was in favour of a controlled removal, but not until Noah’s family have received the expert report.

The preliminary hearing also heard an update on the disclosure of information and evidence held by the police.

Counsel representing the Coroner Service said that there is a ‘small’ amount of information that the PSNI has deemed ‘sensitive’.

Peter Coll KC said that rather than disclosing the evidence directly to the inquest, officers are suggesting they could provide a document summarising what the material relates to.

The court was told that the PSNI intends to circulate this information to all the legal teams involved in the inquest by March 7.

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

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

The next preliminary hearing for the inquest is scheduled for Wednesday, April 2, and the full inquest is anticipated to be held later this year.