The inquest into the death of Belfast schoolboy Noah Donohoe continued this week, more than five years after he disappeared. Noah was 14 years old when he went missing in June 2020, at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. He left home on his bicycle on a Sunday afternoon. In his backpack was a laptop and a copy of Jordan Peterson’s book, 12 Rules for Life. He never returned.

Six days later, his body was found in a storm drain. A post-mortem examination concluded that Noah had drowned. A police investigation was launched, but no criminal charges have ever followed.

In recent weeks, a long-delayed inquest has heard evidence into the circumstances surrounding Noah’s disappearance and death. Jurors have listened to the original 999 call made by Noah’s mother, Fiona. Friends have discussed his intelligent, quirky personality; witnesses have given evidence about their recollections of that day; and police officers involved in the original investigation have begun outlining their actions and decisions.

Ciara Doherty is joined by Declan Harvey, who has been covering the inquest for BBC Northern Ireland and through a dedicated daily podcast, to explain what the jury has heard so far and what evidence is still to come.

📺 Follow the inquest: BBC ‘State of Us’ series

Declan Harvey reportS for BBC Northern Ireland as part of the State of Us series, with regular updates from the inquest.

👉 https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL38qrXdJ0lkN8zTvJ2p4IR-Ykv3bYgwgP

Peter Mandelson has weathered scandal before — but this time the reaction has been visceral. His resignation from the House of Lords follows intense public anger over revelations about his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted sex offender whose crimes continue to reverberate through global politics.

Allegations that Mandelson shared sensitive information, lobbied on Epstein’s behalf, and accepted financial support connected to Epstein have triggered fierce scrutiny. UK prime minister Keir Starmer has referred elements of the case to British police, while honours and privileges linked to Mandelson are being withdrawn, amid growing pressure that this is not just about judgment but accountability.

With Epstein’s victims never far from the public mind, questions of power, access and moral blind spots are unavoidable. Guardian policy editor Kiran Stacey joins Ciara Doherty to examine why this scandal has cut deeper than the rest — and whether the ultimate survivor of British politics has finally run out of road.

The future of Ireland’s Triple Lock is moving from political argument to legislative reality. Following a Cabinet decision last week, the Government is preparing to bring the Defence Amendment Bill before the Oireachtas — setting up one of the most consequential debates about Irish neutrality in decades.

The Triple Lock currently requires Government approval, a Dáil vote, and a UN mandate before Irish troops can be deployed overseas. Ministers argue the UN Security Council is increasingly paralysed, making the system unworkable in a world of rising global tensions. Critics say removing the UN element would quietly weaken neutrality and lower the threshold for overseas military involvement.

On today’s Newstalk Daily, Ciara Doherty is joined by John O’Brennan, Professor of European Politics at Maynooth University, and Niamh Ní Bhriain from the Transnational Institute. They debate whether this is a technical reform or a fundamental shift in Ireland’s foreign and defence policy.

Have your say by emailing newstalkdaily@newstalk.com.

It’s one of Ireland’s most baffling missing persons cases.

And it’s in the news again with Gardai confirming that they now believe the couple in question never left the country despite numerous reported sightings abroad.

So what really happened to Conor and Sheila Dwyer?

And what, if anything, has a renewed investigation uncovered?

Ciara is joined by Southern correspondent with the Irish Independent, Ralph Riegel

Yesterday was, of course, St. Brigid’s day.

But your ancestors would have known it as Imbolc.

And in celtic countries like Ireland and Scotland there are some who still celebrate it as such.

So what is Imbolc and what has it got to do with St. Brigid?

Ciara is joined by Kelly Fitzgerald from the School of Irish, Celtic Studies and Folklore in UCD

50 years ago this year a new genre of music was created.

Suddenly there was this strange and raw sound. Angry looking young people were screaming about their dissatisfaction as to the state of their lot in life and the stale and seemingly hopeless future they had been handed by the establishment.

There were leather jackets, mohawks, safety pins and a whole lot more.

Punk had been born.

But a half a century on, what is its legacy?

Tara Duggan is joined by “Professor of Punk”, Cultural Sociologist, Creative Writer and Experimental Musician at University Limerick, Eoin Devereux

At what point do politicians decide X is no longer fit for purpose?

Dublin City Council saw the writing on the wall and removed their account.

Will others see the logic in their thinking?

Are politicians staying on X because they need it, or because they were told to use it?

And if X is no longer fit for democratic discourse, what — if anything — should replace it?

Tara Duggan is joined by Clare O’Donoghue Velikić, Director of ODV Digital, and Fine Gael TD Neale Richmond,

“TAX THE RICH” — it’s a slogan we’ve heard shouted on streets and trending online

But it’s not a new idea.

Ireland tried a wealth tax before — and — promptly — dropped it.

But times have changed, so the question returns: could a wealth tax work this time? And would it actually change anything?

Eamonn Torsney is joined by Jim Clarken, CEO of Oxfam Ireland and Dr. Emmett Oliver, from Trinity Business school