FOR one final time, Noah Donohoe returned to the north Belfast school he loved so much.
His fellow pupils, dressed in their uniforms, lined the tree-lined avenue which Noah would have walked each day towards St Malachy's College.
Its gates on Antrim Road have become a wall of heartfelt tributes to the teenager since his body was found on Saturday, almost a week after he went missing.
The 14-year-old from south Belfast, a Year 10 pupil, was a talented musician who played the cello and was a keen rugby and basketball player.
[ Read more: Noah Donohoe's mum says he 'gave me a lifetime of love', funeral hearsOpens in new window ]
Flowers, cards, candles and a basketball are among the tributes at the school gates, many from people who did not know Noah, but who have been greatly touched by the tragedy.
A hearse carried Noah's white coffin with a large framed photo displayed on each side. One picture showed him as a younger child smiling, while the other was a beaming selfie with his beloved mother Fiona.
The procession was flanked by bikers from Community Search and Rescue as it moved along Antrim Road towards the school following his funeral service.
Pupils and Search and Rescue personnel, who had carried out intensive searches for Noah when he went missing near Shore Road, formed a joint guard of honour.
Crowds of people also gathered along the route to pay their respects, making social distancing difficult in places.
Some shed tears as the hearse slowly passed by, while many broke into spontaneous applause in Noah's honour. Others released pale blue helium balloons into the clouded grey sky.
Many people also lined the street earlier that morning outside nearby St Patrick's Church, where Noah's Requiem Mass was held.
The church bell tolled as the cortege travelled the short distance from O'Kanes Funeral Directors along Donegall Street.
Noah's mother Fiona, aunts Shona and Niamh, and other family members walked closely behind the hearse.
A single bouquet of flowers was attached to the railings at the entrance to the church.
School friends and members of the basketball team formed a guard of honour at its entrance as Noah's coffin – adorned with ribbons in green and black, his school's colours – was brought inside.
The funeral service in the church had only a small number of mourners due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Fr Michael McGinnity told mourners that a "tangible sense of shock and disbelief has gripped the community" since Noah's tragic death emerged.
So many people are consumed by a sadness that cannot be put into words," he said.
"None of us can begin to imagine the depth of your sorrow and the visceral depth of your grief."
Fr McGinnity also expressed the family's gratitude towards those who had searched for Noah.
His disappearance had prompted a major search operation by police and community rescue teams, as well as hundreds of volunteers who came forward in a huge cross-community response.
In his homily, Fr McGinnity said Noah had "met life with a sense of wonder at everything around him".
"Whether he was on the basketball court or playing his cello or just having fun with friends, he savoured every moment," he said.
"He was passionate about everything he turned his hand to. And he wanted everyone to share that passion with him.
"So much has been written and said about Noah that has touched the hearts of everyone in this city."
