Noah Donohoe's friends 'did not believe he was subjected to racism'

Friends of Noah Donohoe did not believe he was ever subjected to racism, an inquest has heard.

The 14-year-old mixed race schoolboy disappeared and died in north Belfast almost six years ago.

The cause of his disappearance in June 2020 remains a mystery.

Karen Curran, a former detective constable in the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), appeared as a witness at the inquest on Wednesday.

Curran helped to conduct police interviews with some of Noah's school friends, and she recorded that his friends were not aware of Noah being subjected to any racism.

According to her notes, one friend explained that Belfast was considered "more orange/green than black/white".

The inquest heard that Noah never spoke about experiencing racism if the topic was being discussed during the Black Lives Matter (BLM) campaign.

The police notes from wide-ranging interviews with some of his friends also recorded how Noah was held in high regard at his school, St Malachy's College.

Friends regarded Noah as an "articulate, intelligent" schoolboy whose hobbies included philosophy, playing the cello, rugby, basketball, and Irish traditional music.

The police notes from Curran also recounted how friends spoke about his interests in books including the George Orwell novel Nineteen Eighty-Four and the Jordan Peterson publication 12 Rules for Life.

The school mates also spoke about how they knew Noah was close to his mother and was very grateful to her for everything she provided.

The inquest has previously heard that Noah's father had been living abroad and was not involved in his upbringing.

The friends also described how the 14-year-old was "never nasty, always kind" and "everyone respected him".

According to the police notes, Noah cancelled a meet-up with two friends the weekend before he disappeared because he had "something to think about".

The hearing has previously been told that Noah had an inquisitive mind and was always curious about new ideas.

The inquest also heard how Noah had indicated that he wanted to be "less factual and more emotional" about the world.

Curran also recounted how she had been told that Noah gave £5 to a person who was begging on the street the day before the schoolboy disappeared.

The witness had also been told that Noah did not want to be in a relationship because he wanted to have a job first.

The inquest heard that one of Noah's ambitions was to attend Trinity College in Dublin to study dermatology.

The inquest was adjourned early on Wednesday due to planned protests and disruption to public transport in Northern Ireland.

The coroner, Mr Justice Rooney, adjourned the hearing after lunch because he was aware that jury member had "concerns about getting back home".

The inquest has been scheduled to resume on Thursday morning.