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To show you what a few traffic-stopping Mumsnetters got up to in the sun today?

376 replies

BelfastsChild · 13/08/2022 17:45

These were the scenes outside hot and sunny Belfast City Hall earlier today as quite a few Mumsnetters joined thousands of other people in stopping the traffic for Noah Donohoe.

Noah Donohoe: Thousands at Belfast protest
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-62533892

I'll post a few more photos too.

To show you what a few traffic-stopping Mumsnetters got up to in the sun today?
To show you what a few traffic-stopping Mumsnetters got up to in the sun today?
To show you what a few traffic-stopping Mumsnetters got up to in the sun today?
OP posts:
Thread gallery
92
BelfastsChild · 14/08/2022 21:25

Thank you @TitsHerbert - every bit of help for Noah is welcome and appreciated from everyone, including you.

OP posts:
TitsHerbert · 14/08/2022 21:26

Sorry that was from last years felie doh
Here's what we saw on the big screen last night

To show you what a few traffic-stopping Mumsnetters got up to in the sun today?
BelfastsChild · 14/08/2022 21:41

Everyone - I just want to clarify, in case it's not clear enough, that I'm not being political here. I'm being the opposite of political. I want all parties to stand alongside Fiona and Niamh for the truth and justice for Noah and against the secrecy of PII Certificates. More importantly, that's how Fiona and Niamh feel, hence the equal invitation to all parties representing all communities to speak at the rally yesterday. The support from members of the public is even more important. Support from all communities is equally valued and important. Fiona is beyond grateful to everyone from all communities who helped to search for Noah during that fateful time and who continue to help and support in different ways to this day. As she says, 'Thankyou so much. I know so many amazing people in ALL communities and from ALL cultural backgrounds stand as one for Noah...he is all our children'.

I think it's important to clarify, because some people will always find reasons to complain and find a way to cause division amongst those of us who are united for Noah and for all children.

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BelfastsChild · 14/08/2022 23:14

A few more lovely images from yesterday, with thanks to Jackie, Patricia and Thomas:

To show you what a few traffic-stopping Mumsnetters got up to in the sun today?
To show you what a few traffic-stopping Mumsnetters got up to in the sun today?
To show you what a few traffic-stopping Mumsnetters got up to in the sun today?
OP posts:
hedgehoglurker · 15/08/2022 08:41

Bump

IsFuzzyBeagMise · 15/08/2022 08:55

💙

BelfastsChild · 15/08/2022 11:04

Thank you @IsFuzzyBeagMise @hedgehoglurker 💙

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IsFuzzyBeagMise · 15/08/2022 11:09

💙

hedgehoglurker · 15/08/2022 11:23

💙

BelfastsChild · 15/08/2022 12:33

Some newspaper coverage of Saturday's rally:

To show you what a few traffic-stopping Mumsnetters got up to in the sun today?
OP posts:
SheldonesqueTheBstard · 15/08/2022 13:03

💙

BelfastsChild · 15/08/2022 13:04

It looks like Saturday's rally of thousands of people standing up for Noah has definitely got some people in high places worried and trying to undertake a damage limitation exercise. This is being reported by ITV/UTV:
'NIO moves to distance itself and secretary of state from Noah Donohoe disclosure request
The Northern Ireland Office has moved to distance itself and the secretary of state from the issuing of a Public Interest Immunity (PII) certificate granted in the case of tragic Belfast teen Noah Donohoe.
It said the application was made by the PSNI and the ultimate decision was down to the coroner.
It comes after calls were made for transparency in relation to the police investigation into the death of the schoolboy at a protest held by the child’s family at Belfast City Hall on Saturday.
In a statement, the Northern Ireland Office said: "The secretary of state’s thoughts are with the Donohoe family and friends during this difficult time.
“The Public Interest Immunity application was made by the PSNI, not the secretary of state, and it is the coroner who has responsibility for deciding whether or not information attracts PII.
“The Secretary of State’s decision to sign the PII certificate was reached after very careful consideration of the information and detailed briefing by officials.”
Noah, a pupil at St Malachy’s College in Belfast, was found dead in a storm drain in north Belfast in June 2020, six days after he went missing.
The granting of a PII certificate has caused controversy.
The demonstration comes after Northern Ireland Secretary of State Shailesh Vara signed off on a request by the PSNI for public interest immunity (PII) in relation to three police files that are to be used during the inquest into the child’s death.
The application to redact sensitive materials, being made by the PSNI through the PII process, needs to be supported by a certificate signed by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland or another Northern Ireland Office minister.
It emerged at the end of July that Mr Vara had signed the PII certificate, which was met with criticism by the Donohoe family.
The law firm representing the Donohoe family expressed “grave concerns” over Mr Vara’s actions, claiming that the move appeared to “exacerbate rather than allay deeply held concerns”.
The event finished with a minute’s silence and the release of doves.'

I'm sorry, but the Northern Ireland Office and Shailesh Vara - who is also MP for North West Cambridgeshire in England - cannot push the blame for this on to just the PSNI (police) and coroner (Joe McCrisken). The NIO could have briefed Mr Vara against signing the PII certificate. Mr Vara could have refused to sign it, preferably after doing some independent research into Noah's story himself and even meeting with Fiona, Noah's mother on one of his visits to NI and Belfast at that time. But the NIO and Mr Vara didn't do any of those things, the application was signed and they have to take responsibility for that. They could even choose to retract it.

OP posts:
EmeraldShamrock1 · 15/08/2022 13:14

I'm glad they're losing control pointing fingers.
The truth is coming.
The coroner won't take the responsibility of implementing the PII.
Let's wait and see, either way the support is growing and nothing but truth will stop the momentum.

LadyEloise1 · 15/08/2022 13:17

BelfastsChild · 15/08/2022 13:04

It looks like Saturday's rally of thousands of people standing up for Noah has definitely got some people in high places worried and trying to undertake a damage limitation exercise. This is being reported by ITV/UTV:
'NIO moves to distance itself and secretary of state from Noah Donohoe disclosure request
The Northern Ireland Office has moved to distance itself and the secretary of state from the issuing of a Public Interest Immunity (PII) certificate granted in the case of tragic Belfast teen Noah Donohoe.
It said the application was made by the PSNI and the ultimate decision was down to the coroner.
It comes after calls were made for transparency in relation to the police investigation into the death of the schoolboy at a protest held by the child’s family at Belfast City Hall on Saturday.
In a statement, the Northern Ireland Office said: "The secretary of state’s thoughts are with the Donohoe family and friends during this difficult time.
“The Public Interest Immunity application was made by the PSNI, not the secretary of state, and it is the coroner who has responsibility for deciding whether or not information attracts PII.
“The Secretary of State’s decision to sign the PII certificate was reached after very careful consideration of the information and detailed briefing by officials.”
Noah, a pupil at St Malachy’s College in Belfast, was found dead in a storm drain in north Belfast in June 2020, six days after he went missing.
The granting of a PII certificate has caused controversy.
The demonstration comes after Northern Ireland Secretary of State Shailesh Vara signed off on a request by the PSNI for public interest immunity (PII) in relation to three police files that are to be used during the inquest into the child’s death.
The application to redact sensitive materials, being made by the PSNI through the PII process, needs to be supported by a certificate signed by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland or another Northern Ireland Office minister.
It emerged at the end of July that Mr Vara had signed the PII certificate, which was met with criticism by the Donohoe family.
The law firm representing the Donohoe family expressed “grave concerns” over Mr Vara’s actions, claiming that the move appeared to “exacerbate rather than allay deeply held concerns”.
The event finished with a minute’s silence and the release of doves.'

I'm sorry, but the Northern Ireland Office and Shailesh Vara - who is also MP for North West Cambridgeshire in England - cannot push the blame for this on to just the PSNI (police) and coroner (Joe McCrisken). The NIO could have briefed Mr Vara against signing the PII certificate. Mr Vara could have refused to sign it, preferably after doing some independent research into Noah's story himself and even meeting with Fiona, Noah's mother on one of his visits to NI and Belfast at that time. But the NIO and Mr Vara didn't do any of those things, the application was signed and they have to take responsibility for that. They could even choose to retract it.

I agree with you.
Passing the buck.
But it happened "on their watch"

Justice for Noah💙

BelfastsChild · 15/08/2022 13:19

Thank you @SheldonesqueTheBstard @LadyEloise1 @EmeraldShamrock1

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BelfastsChild · 15/08/2022 13:22

Some more images from Saturday, with thanks to Firinne and Mazza:

OP posts:
DownNative · 15/08/2022 13:32

Sorry to have to pop up again, but it's pretty clear the campaign hasn't been cross community or cross party from very early on.

The main reason for this has been the very deep involvement of the Republican Movement in the campaign for Noah Donohoe.

Relatives For Justice sound to GB ears like a neutral, cross community group in pursuit of justice for families. In reality, it is a Provisional Republican front group who literally ignore the majority of injustices because it doesn't fit their agenda.

A former PSF/PIRA man, Shane Doherty (denounced the IRA in 1978) explained the motives and behaviour of this group in 2018.

Link is here:

irishpeaceprocess.blog/2018/04/17/relatives-for-justice-time-for-truth-or-time-for-really-big-lies/

Provisional Sinn Féin and Provisional IRA sent John Finucane to speak on their behalf. Despite the fact they continue to refuse to condemn murders of many people and obstruct efforts to achieve justice for many to this day. This includes the murder of Edgar Graham in similar circumstances to his father, Pat Finucane.

Most infamously, the Quinn family whose son was tortured, beaten and murdered by PSF/PIRA in 2007. Their mother still campaigns for justice today.

Yet we do not see any standing in solidarity with the Quinns. This is another Catholic family denied justice by the Republican Movement and others in their area.

Féile An Phobail - Once again, we hear of the crowd chanting pro-IRA nonsense which demonstrates the one-sidedness of this event as well as the implication PSF/PIRA injustices are.....irrelevant. The SDLP's Carl Whyte has condemned this annual pro-IRA chanting Once again. Clearly, it is not an inclusive, cross community event, but is very much Republican in nature as evidenced from the chanting.

One member of the SDLP attended the 13th August protest, but it appears this was in a personal capacity. The main SDLP twitter account made no reference to the protest on 13th August on their twitter account.

People Before Profit attended in an official capacity as well. Again, this is a Republican socialist party which is small.

Àontu also attended. Another Republican party.

Provisional Sinn Féin/Provisional IRA organised public protests which the MumsNettersForNoahandFiona account tried to initially deny.

Far from the campaign being an inclusive, cross community initiative, it is very much predominantly Republican in nature. Unfortunately, sectarianism has been part of this from the beginning due to the area in which Noah Donohoe was found.

It says a lot when Provisional Sinn Féin and Provisional IRA is deeply involved in such events. Yet the likes of SDLP, Alliance and various Unionist parties are not involved.

Especially Alliance who are a party with members from both sides of the divide. Their leader is a reasonable woman who has a track record of being fair-minded, even-handed and committed to cross community relations. Additionally, a Justice Minister cannot intervene in live ongoing criminal investigations or proceedings.

There is a reason more grounded parties like the above don't have a big role in the Noah Donohoe campaign. And it's not because they're sectarian. Alliance is non-sectarian. SDLP is a Catholic party. I am from a non-sectarian Catholic family myself.

Not even a Republic of Ireland party attended.

And yet every single party leader expressed condolences to the Donohoe family upon the news of his death. Quite rightly so.

The motivation for the Republican Movement is very much political and that's to unforgivably use Noah Donohoe's tragic death as a political weapon against the British State and people. All the other parties on the island of Ireland can see that, hence their clear absence from the 13th August protest. This is what has happened to these protests, unfortunately. These absences are not explained by sectarian, anti-Catholic bigotry which has been suggested or implied in multiple threads.

To be clear, I am all in favour of campaigns for justice AND truth for anyone so long as it is done in a non-political, non-partisan manner. But that has not been the case here as Republican groups have been involved from the beginning.

The various different accounts that are now used on Mumsnet have all tried to conceal the role and involvement of the Republican Movement in this campaign. They have been advised they were making a massive mistake involving the Provisionals aka Provos aka Sinn Féin and Provisional IRA.

They ignored it and continued to misrepresent it as being inclusive to GB Mumsnetters who wouldn't know anything unless someone points it out. There is a reason they didn't want you to know - they know the British people are reluctant to get involved in any campaign which heavily features Republican Movement groups. As a result, it became political by involving these groups.

It is not possible to campaign for justice AND truth whilst standing with PSF/PIRA who actively deny justice to others in what's claimed to be an inclusive, cross community campaign.

A massive, massive missed opportunity has been missed here to create a truly cross community campaign for justice. That must be a source of huge regret and sadness. These campaigns ALWAYS do best in an inclusive, cross community fashion when political parties are kept away.

Especially ones with the kind of history Provisional Sinn Féin and Provisional IRA have.

Unquestionably, Noah Donohoe more than deserves a true, inclusive and cross community public campaign. The truth also deserves to come out.

An inquest will be held in November 2022 which should provide the answers to many, many questions in the mystery of Noah Donohoe.

I urge all Mumsnetters to wait for the conclusion of that before they make their minds up based on incomplete information they're reading on Mumsnet.

Stating these things is not derailing or anything else that may be claimed. The OP and various accounts has repeatedly claimed the campaign has been inclusive. As one can see, it has not.

I wholeheartedly pray that the Donohoe family get the answers they require from the impending inquest. Sincerely.

But I cannot in all good conscience get involved in anything led by the Provisional Republican Movement. Neither can many, many people due to the sheer hypocrisy and insult the Provos continue to do.

May the truth come out in time so Noah Donohoe's soul can rest in peace.

BelfastsChild · 15/08/2022 14:06

💙Everyone - I would ask posters to ignore and not engage or @ the pp, and to report the post to MNHQ. This poster repeatedly 'pops up' with their own agenda on threads for Noah. Their intention, in my opinion, is to derail the threads, put other posters off reading and posting, damage the campaign for Noah, defame the characters of the family and their supporters and to cause trouble and division where there is unity. They have been asked to cease and desist and reminded that legal action can be taken for libel, but they have now chosen to 'pop up again' trying to pollute this positive new thread for Noah with untruths and insinuations. It is a great shame.

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BelfastsChild · 15/08/2022 14:08

Moving on, some more images from Saturday, with thanks to Derek:

To show you what a few traffic-stopping Mumsnetters got up to in the sun today?
To show you what a few traffic-stopping Mumsnetters got up to in the sun today?
To show you what a few traffic-stopping Mumsnetters got up to in the sun today?
OP posts:
BelfastsChild · 15/08/2022 14:24

Apologies - those last photos were Brendan's - thanks to him

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Myshitisreal · 15/08/2022 14:45

Great to see so much of Noahs case in the public eye. About bloody time. 💙

BelfastsChild · 15/08/2022 15:12

Correction to one of my pps - I'm delighted to be able to report that Mayor of Belfast, Cllr Christina Black, did attend the rally for Noah on Saturday and wearing her chain of office. She said she is 'proud to support this wonderful mother & brave family in the search for truth, accountability & justice'.

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BelfastsChild · 15/08/2022 15:12

Thank you @Myshitisreal 💙

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BelfastsChild · 15/08/2022 16:21

More newspaper coverage about Saturday's rally for Noah:

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BelfastsChild · 15/08/2022 16:53

Here we go, a bit more damage limitation just in after a rally of thousands on Saturday and a petition of 325,725 signatures and still climbing:

BBC News NI Political Correspondent Jayne McCormack -
NI Secretary Shailesh Vara says he is prepared to meet the family of Noah Donohoe to discuss their concerns about the PII certificate he signed relating to the teenager’s inquest - he says he understands the family’s anguish & that he signed the PII after “careful consideration”

Mr Vara was only in the job for a couple of weeks when he signed it. I can't accept there was any 'careful consideration'. For all his faults, his predecessor Brandon Lewis hadn't yet signed it when he resigned.

OP posts: