A close friend of a tragic schoolboy found dead in a storm drain after going missing had ‘no concerns’ about his mental health, an inquest has has heard. 

Noah Donohoe was 14 years old when he vanished after cycling to meet two friends in the Cavehill area of Belfast in June 2020.

His body was discovered in a storm drain in north Belfast on June 27, six days after he went missing. A post-mortem examination revealed he had drowned. 

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

Today, Belfast Coroner’s Court heard from Charlie Rocks, who described himself as Noah’s ‘closest friend’. 

Mr Rocks, who attended St Malachy’s College in Belfast with Noah, told the hearing: ‘He was the nicest, friendliest person, funniest person.’

Telling the inquest he had no concerns about his friend’s mental heath, Mr Rocks said Noah ‘never appeared to be down or depressed’.

Paying tribute, Mr Rocks said Noah was the ‘smartest kid, he was always asking questions’.

Noah Donohoe (pictured) was found dead in a storm drain in north Belfast, six days after he went missing

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.’

Mr Rocks 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.’

Noah’s mother Fiona Donohoe (pictured) outside Belfast Coroner’s Court last Thursday 

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.

The jury were also shown CCTV footage of Noah travelling through Belfast on his bike on the evening he went missing.

The nine minutes of footage showed the schoolboy Noah leaving his apartment block, cycling through the city centre and towards the north of the city on June 21 2020.

In the final CCTV clip, Noah is shown cycling naked.

Noah’s inquest was originally intended to begin in November 2025 before a jury, but was pushed back after concerns were raised that the evidence would not be finished before Christmas.

Official proceedings got underway last Thursday, with the first pieces of evidence coming from Fiona Donohoe’s initial 999 call and pre-recorded statement.

The coroner told the jury last week that they expect the inquest to last until the end of March.

The inquest continues.