Friend of Noah Donohoe had ‘no concerns’ about his mental health

By Jonathan McCambridge, Press Association

A close friend of Noah Donohoe has told an inquest he had no concerns about the state of mind of the Belfast schoolboy before he went missing in 2020.

Charlie Rocks also told an inquest that Noah had never demonstrated any interest in storm drains or being underground.

Noah was 14 when he was found dead in a storm drain in north Belfast in June 2020, six days after leaving home on his bike to meet two friends to travel to the Cavehill area of Belfast.

The inquest, which is being heard with a jury, is investigating the circumstances around the schoolboy’s disappearance and death.

The court heard evidence from Mr Rocks, who described himself as Noah’s “closest friend” when they were pupils at St Malachy’s College in Belfast.

He said: “He was the nicest, friendliest person, funniest person.”

Mr Rocks said Noah was the “smartest kid, he was always asking questions”.

He added: “Noah was friendly with everyone in school. I joked with him that he knew everyone in school.

“He wasn’t the type of person to be in the popular friend group, but he knew everyone.”

The witness continued: “He never mentioned to me anything about storm drains or going underground or being in tunnels.

“If he had have been interested in these things, he would have talked about them as he would always have spoken about things that he was interested in throughout lockdown.

“He appeared to be upbeat and was looking forward to ending lockdown.

“He never appeared to be down or depressed, and only mentioned once to me that he was feeling blue.”

Counsel to the coroner Peter Coll KC asked Mr Rocks if he had had any concerns about Noah’s state of mind before he went missing.

Mr Rocks said: “Noah is very eccentric as a person, and I think some of the last conversations we had before he passed were certainly eccentric.

“I think that was because of the transitional period he was going through.

“But in terms of immediate concern, I had none at the time, and I even looking back on it now, I still don’t.”

The inquest was shown a series of social media messages between Noah, Mr Rocks and another friend – Jay Tierney.

Mr Rocks told the inquest that he believed Noah had become “more open” about his mental health during the Covid lockdown period.

He said: “He was starting to grow up and think more about his emotions. He was definitely changing, which was great.”

Mr Rocks told the hearing that Noah had asked him if he wanted to read the self-help book 12 Rules for Life, by the author Jordan Peterson, but that he had declined to read it.

Under questioning from barrister for the PSNI Donal Lunny, Mr Rocks said he had been unaware that Noah had occasionally stayed overnight alone in his Belfast apartment.