MEMBERS of the public wishing to pay their respects to schoolboy Noah Donohoe have been invited to line the route of his funeral which will take place tomorrow.
The Donohoe family has once again thanked the public for the outpouring of support they have received since the schoolboy went missing on Sunday June 21.
The teenager's disappearance sparked a huge search operation which ended on Saturday morning, when a specialist team recovered his remains from a storm drain in north Belfast.
Noah's, strictly family only, funeral Mass will take place at St Patrick's Church in Donegall Street in Belfast at 11am.
Following the service the 14-year-old will make his final journey, with the cortège stopping briefly outside his school St Malachy’s College on the nearby Antrim Road.
His family said the grammar school, where well-wishers have been leaving flowers and other tributes outside the gates in recent days, was "a place he loved and where he was loved".
In a statement the family added: "We will be forever grateful for the support and love which we have benefited from since Noah went missing.
"We also acknowledge that there are some who will wish to be a part of Noah’s last journey.
"As such we are asking that anyone who may wish to be in the area in person on Wednesday observe social distancing along the route we take from St Patrick’s to St Malachy’s".
Police have said that there is no evidence of foul play in the disappearance of Noah.
The south Belfast teenager had travelled on his bike from his lower Ormeau home across Belfast city centre and was last seen on the Shore Road in north Belfast.
Police have say they have still not established what Noah was doing in the area.
On Sunday the family released an emotional statement thanking people for their support, and speaking of the special relationship he had with his mother Fiona.
"From walking with us, both physically and spiritually, to feeling our pain, we recognise that everyone has lost Noah," they said.
"Noah’s mummy always told him that he would change the world. He was very special. It is very hard to do justice or honour the extraordinary relationship Noah and his mummy shared.
"In his 14 years his mummy got so much from their special bond - he taught his mummy so much. They were each other’s world", they said.
