Northern Ireland

Belfast City Hall lit up in blue to mark nine weeks since disappearance and death of schoolboy Noah Donohoe

Belfast City Hall was lit up in blue for Noah Donohue last night. Picture by Hugh Russell
Belfast City Hall was lit up in blue for Noah Donohue last night. Picture by Hugh Russell Belfast City Hall was lit up in blue for Noah Donohue last night. Picture by Hugh Russell

BELFAST City Hall and the Tinnies sculpture in Strabane were among public spaces lit up in blue last night in solidarity with the family of Belfast teenager Noah Donohoe.

A mural with an image of the schoolboy set against the backdrop of a heart has also been painted on the International Wall on the Falls Road in west Belfast.

The displays are in support of a campaign by Noah's mother, Fiona Donohoe, to raise awareness of his disappearance and death.

She has set up dedicated Twitter and Facebook pages to help people share information about what may have happened to her son and remember him.

Yesterday the 'My Noah' Twitter page marked the ninth week since the boy's disappearance.

It displayed photos of the mural and the places to be lit up along with the caption: "This evening at 6:11pm it will be... #RememberMyNoah #Week9.

"Thank you all for your continued kindness and support."

The 14-year-old, a pupil at St Malachy's College on the Antrim Road, was found in a storm drain in June, six days after his disappearance sparked a huge search effort across Belfast.

A post-mortem examination concluded he had drowned.

CCTV footage showed the teenager cycling along the York Road in north Belfast minutes before the last sighting of him on June 21. He had been travelling to meet friends at the Cave Hill Country Park.

Ms Donohoe, who lives in south Belfast and is originally from Strabane in Co Tyrone, has encouraged people to post messages on Twitter with the hashtag “#Remember MyNoah”.

In an interview-style video posted on the social media pages, she said: "My Noah is like now everybody's Noah and I'll gratefully share everything about my Noah so that people can get to know him because he was such an amazing boy.

"These social media accounts, I don't know much about social media, but it's a way for people to learn more about Noah because they've taken him into their hearts. It's a platform for Noah to sing out.

"And that's why I want people to just give as much as they can to keep.. till we get answers – it's all about getting the answers."