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Belfast Live
Belfast Live
National
Lauren Harte

Noah Donohoe: Enniskillen protest planned in support of schoolboy's family

A demonstration is set to be staged in Enniskillen in the coming weeks in support of the family of Noah Donohoe.

Noah, a pupil at St Malachy’s College in Belfast, was found dead in a storm drain in North Belfast in June 2020, six days after he went missing.

Many supporters from Fermanagh attended a recent protest at Belfast City Hall over an application to withhold information in police files in the inquest into the death of the schoolboy.

Read more: Vara offers to meet Fiona Donohoe over withholding of information

Leah Smith from Derrylin is among those from the county who attended the recent rally in Belfast.

She is now one of those organising a protest at the Diamond in Enniskillen in the coming weeks as way for Fermanagh people to show their support for Noah’s family.

"We have been planning this event for some time and hope to have a date finalised shortly," Leah added.

"We want people to see that Fermanagh is supporting Noah's family just like many other counties across Northern Ireland. I think everybody who has a child should be putting their feet on the street to support Noah's mum Fiona in some way."

Earlier this month, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Shailesh Vara offered to meet Fiona Donohoe to explain his approval of a police application to withhold some information from an inquest into the child's death.

Mr Vara stressed the ultimate decision on the redaction of police files rested with the coroner and said claims hundreds of pages would be redacted were “complete nonsense”.

Fiona Donohoe hopes to find answers to some of the questions surrounding Noah’s death through the inquest process, and has called for police files relating to the investigation to be released in full.

It came just days after thousands of people protested in Belfast city centre over a public interest immunity (PII) certificate signed by Mr Vara following an application by the PSNI.

Protesters carried signs and banners calling for “Justice for Noah” and chanted “No PII” and “Tell the truth” during the event.

Some wore blue-and-white striped jerseys with the number 14 on the back, Noah’s age when he died.

Coroner Joe McCrisken will make a final decision on the PII application ahead of Noah’s inquest, scheduled for November 28.

The law firm representing the Donohoe family has expressed “grave concerns” over Mr Vara’s actions, claiming the move appeared to “exacerbate rather than allay deeply held concerns”.

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