“If you want to see what someone or something is really like, take it out of the moonlight and view it in the sunlight, warts and all.”
That was the advice once given to me by a prominent journalist. And they were right – that’s how one should think and view events in life. Nothing and no one is beyond scrutiny; not in a supposed democracy anyway. We live in the North of Ireland, not in the North of Korea.
That aside, an overwhelming number of people have contacted me to express their gratitude for my modest efforts to highlight the Police Ombudsman’s Office’s refusal to look into serious concerns about the handling by the PSNI of Noah Donohoe’s death and disappearance. Of course there are people out there who say that I’m paranoid or it is none of my business and that only the family should do this – But I put the question to those individuals that if it was their child and someone out there could help shed some light on the matter, would they not welcome any such assistance? Is the loss of a talented, bright young man not everyone’s business and loss throughout society, where we are supposed to be our ‘brother’s keeper’? Are we not all responsible for cherishing other people’s sons and daughters too?
These are fundamental questions for you to reflect on.
The seminal point is getting to the bottom of the whole murky affair and distinguishing fact from fiction. Now, I have tried to be polite and reasonable with the authorities who are meant to scrutinise the police and hold them to account. Deep down I want to believe that there are sensible adults in the room who know what they are doing. And so far, I have come up against a metaphorical “brick wall” of either inept, ignorant or unwilling attitudes in ‘officialdom’ towards the salient concerns of a mere 28 year old man; curious to know if possible child killers walk the streets of my locality – and if so, what the police (who we all pay for via taxation) intend to do about it, for the family and for society.
Words can be powerful and emotive. Words are also one of the few things we have left to challenge the will and actions of those who make both meagre and massive decisions over our lives. What few mechanisms we have to hold them to book we should hold dear. People struggled, toiled and died to acquire those for you. And following yet another reasonable plea to the Police Ombudsman, with a tone of persistence, a public servant sought again to fob me off by saying he would refer the matter to a Director of Current Investigations (who also happens to be a former cop himself, which could be perceived as a potential conflict of interest). Reminding him of his obligations and my request, I stated again that I wanted the matter sent to the Police Ombudsman herself, for unlike other officials, she is accountable to a parliament we elect and to the wider public of Ireland – who are not “children” and have the democratic right to know what goes on in their name.
I do not know what reply they will give me. But at this point I would ask you kindly to email and contact the Police Ombudsman’s Office and conscientiously demand that this specific complaint be treated with the importance and the dignity which Noah deserves. Following that, we must petition and request that our MLAs and Justice Minister authorise a full, independent public inquiry by an impartial public figure into the events of Sunday 21st June 2020 regarding Noah Donohoe.
Having stood at that vigil at Saint Malachy’s and seen the emotion on the faces of all who took the time to attend in wind and rain; with men crying and their wives standing beside them with candles, I believe that we collectively can overturn the official narrative to honour this young man and the truly remarkable grace of his mother/family.
A patriot once opined that power unchecked is tyranny, disguised or otherwise. So, please get emailing, writing, ringing, sharing and demanding that the people who govern us do so in the interests of Noah, your children and your grandchildren. This cannot be permitted in your name and you have the right to know what happened in full that fateful day.
If you have any information or would like to know how to help with the petitions and wider campaigns that have been set up and also in pressing the Police Ombudsman’s Office for a full investigation that is impartial, please contact or join the Noah Donohoe Information group on Facebook. You can contact me there. And I thank everyone who has helped with this matter so far, as well as the overwhelming number of people who have supported these efforts.
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