Storm drain 'a death trap', says Noah Donohoe family solicitor

The culvert where 14-year-old Noah Donohoe was found dead should be "condemned as a death trap", according to Fiona Donohoe's solicitor Niall Murphy.

On Tuesday, the jury in the Noah Donohoe inquest found it was possible, but not probable, that failings by the Department of Infrastructure (DfI) over the tunnel in which he was found dead contributed to his death.

The jury found that the DfI had failed to identify a hazard at the site, which it maintains, and that there was no warning sign.

They also found numerous failings in the Police Service of Northern Ireland's (PSNI's) investigation, but that these did not contribute to the schoolboy's death.

On Wednesday, Murphy said it was apparent that a child could have "navigated the width" of the bars outside the drain entrance, which has since been "recognised and rectified".

"In mature reflection, this storm drain can be condemned as a death trap because that's what it was and the inquest took a very methodical and deep examination of the history of the installation of that storm drain," he told BBC Radio Ulster's Good Morning Ulster programme.

In a statement issued on Tuesday evening, Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins said her thoughts were with Noah's family, and that she "unreservedly" accepts the findings of the inquest.

"As minister, I will make sure the department does everything it needs to ensure all lessons are learned," she added.

Murphy said Fiona Donohoe was "exhausted" by one of the "longest running inquests in the history of the jurisdiction".

He said police failed to access CCTV and that Fiona now has to "understand and live with" that.

"There was CCTV available to police on the night from a camera on the back of a house on Northwood Road that overlooked the storm drain and it's incomprehensible that was not identified, secured, assessed and acted upon," he said.

He said the family has been left with "so many questions rather than answers, but the fault of that does not lie with Fiona, the fault of that lies both with the Department for Infrastructure and the police".

Also speaking on the programme, the Community Rescue Service commander who was in charge of the search for Noah Donohoe in June 2020, said Fiona Donohoe's search for answers will continue.

Sean McCarry, who gave evidence at the inquest, said it was detailed, but some questions still remain.

"It took six days to find Noah. It took six years to get the inquest and it took nine months for a jury to reach its conclusions. That's a process that has to be done," McCarry said.

"We're never going to get, and it's a difficult thing, we're never going to get all of the answers we want to get but there are some things that have definitely been answered," he said.

"It was a very detailed inquest with lots of things that I'm sure helped many people and I'm sure will help many people in the future … but it does not bring Fiona's search to an end."

McCarry said that during the search, he got to know a lot about Noah, adding that "he would just have been anybody's favourite perfect child".

"Whenever you have someone so perfect and something imperfect like this happens it's so difficult to understand and explain it," McCarry said.

"It's touched every single life, I would have to say every single person across all of Northern Ireland and Ireland and wider afield."

Speaking to the media on Wednesday, First Minister Michelle O'Neill said she is "very mindful of Fiona's determination, her courage, her not giving up attitude".

"She really do epitomise everything of a mother," O'Neill said.

She said she knows Fiona Donohoe will "want to reflect on what's next", but added: "I do welcome the fact that Liz Kimmins, as the infrastructure minister, did not miss a beat in terms of being out immediately after the ruling.

"She'll accept everything that's said and make sure lessons are learned within that department. Likewise, we need to see the PSNI do that as well."

Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly said her thoughts are with Noah's mother and wider family.

"This has been a very long journey, it was a very lengthy inquest as well … that of course takes its toll. It's a very, very challenging thing for any family to go through," Little-Pengelly said.

"Fiona and the family came into the inquest with a lot of questions. It's an absolute tragedy," she said.

"We've come out of that process and a lot of those questions have not been able to be answered and I think that will be frustrating, that will have an impact on Fiona and the wider family and friends of Noah."

On Tuesday Noah's mother, Fiona Donohoe, said he had been failed by both the department and police while the family's solicitor said she had suffered "indignity after indignity".

The PSNI said itwas a "complex and challenging investigation which garnered huge public and media interest, along with widespread speculation" and the eventual outcome was "devastating".

Assistant Chief Constable Davy Beck said there was "no action that police could have taken" that would have prevented Noah's death.

Noah went missing on Sunday, 21 June 2020, after leaving his south Belfast home on his bicycle, sparking a huge search across the city.

He was found dead six days later in the water tunnel in the north of the city, which leads into Belfast Lough, with the cause of death found to be drowning.

Eyewitnesses, who were the last to see him in the vicinity of the tunnel, reported that he was naked.

The incident sparked widespread speculation about what happened to Noah, with his family launching a high-profile campaign.

There was no conclusive evidence at the inquest about why Noah was without his possessions and all the clothing he was wearing when he was last seen alive.

There was also no evidence about any physical interaction between the schoolboy and anyone else during his journey from his south Belfast to the north.

The inquest heard evidence from 76 witnesses and statements from a further 42 people, and involved maps, video footage, photographs, police logs and expert reports.

Jurors were tasked with agreeing findings on 10 questions, including the date of Noah's death and whether any errors made by police contributed to his death.