The State of Us Podcast
Tara Mills and Declan Harvey react and reflect on news stories in a BBC NI podcast.
Episodes to download
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9. Court told Eleanor ‘still loved’ Jeffrey—The Donaldson Sex Abuse Trial
Friday
Five witnesses gave evidence in court today.
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8. Jeffrey's WhatsApp message—The Donaldson Sex Abuse Trial
Thursday
The court hears Jeffrey Donaldson sent a message saying he wanted to repent.
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65. The Last Photo—The Noah Donohoe Inquest
Thursday
The last photo taken on Noah's phone isn't remembered by the man who checked his devices
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64. Noah's final journey—The Noah Donohoe Inquest
Wednesday
Footage is shown of Noah’s final journey through Belfast on the day he disappeared.
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7. Tearful witness blames herself.—The Donaldson Sex Abuse Trial
Wednesday
A witness tells the court she should have gone to police sooner.
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6. Rape allegations—The Donaldson Sex Abuse Trial
Tuesday
Sir Jeffrey Donaldson is accused of raping a child.
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5. Woman told she’s ‘making up’ abuse—The Donaldson Sex Abuse Trial
Last Monday
One of the two women accusing Sir Jeffrey Donaldson finished her evidence today.
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63. Is key expert impartial?—The Noah Donohoe Inquest
Fri 29 May 2026
A Department for Infrastructure witness was challenged by the Donohoe family’s barrister.
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4. Eleanor accused of seeing abuse—The Donaldson Sex Abuse Trial
Fri 29 May 2026
Lady Donaldson is accused of witnessing her husband’s alleged abuse but not intervening.
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3. Letter of 'regret'—The Donaldson Sex Abuse Trial
Thu 28 May 2026
The trial is told Sir Jeffrey Donaldson wrote a letter to one of the two alleged victims
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62. Tunnel ‘not seriously dangerous’—The Noah Donohoe Inquest
Thu 28 May 2026
An expert says he wouldn’t say the tunnel in which Noah died was ‘seriously dangerous’.
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2. The Prosecution’s case—The Donaldson Sex Abuse Trial
Wed 27 May 2026
Prosecutors have begun setting out the case against the Donaldsons.
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61. Bodycam footage lost—The Noah Donohoe Inquest
Wed 27 May 2026
A detective involved in the case wasn’t aware of a number of pieces of evidence
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60. Witness accused of ‘untruth’—The Noah Donohoe Inquest
Tue 26 May 2026
A police witness wasn’t asked about the search for Noah until last month.
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1. Jury sworn in—The Donaldson Sex Abuse Trial
Tue 26 May 2026
A jury is sworn in for the trial of Sir Jeffrey Donaldson and Lady Eleanor Donaldson.
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The Donaldson trial—The Donaldson Sex Abuse Trial
Fri 22 May 2026
Solicitor Sarah McKeown discusses some big pre-trial decisions the judge has made.
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59. New video of night before—The Noah Donohoe Inquest
Wed 20 May 2026
The jury is shown new CCTV footage of Noah on the night before he disappeared.
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58. Problems with time of death—The Noah Donohoe Inquest
Tue 19 May 2026
An expert theory on the time Noah died was challenged today.
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57. Tunnel area used as ‘playground’—The Noah Donohoe Inquest
Mon 18 May 2026
Whether the public could easily access the storm drain area was debated today.
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56. Jury sees body in tunnel—The Noah Donohoe Inquest
Fri 15 May 2026
The court is shown footage of Noah's body inside the culvert.
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55. Mystery call to Noah—The Noah Donohoe Inquest
Thu 14 May 2026
A mystery call was made to Noah’s phone from his own number the night before he vanished.
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54. Fireworks in court—The Noah Donohoe Inquest
Wed 13 May 2026
A returning witness today said he was sick of being harassed by the legal teams.
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53. Escaping the tunnel—The Noah Donohoe Inquest
Tue 12 May 2026
A Department for Infrastructure official explains why he crawled through the storm drain.
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52. The steep drop—The Noah Donohoe Inquest
Mon 11 May 2026
An expert says the steep gradient of part of the storm drain added to its danger.
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51. Panicked Government WhatsApps—The Noah Donohoe Inquest
Fri 8 May 2026
WhatsApp messages between Department of Infrastructure staff were told to the jury today.
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50. Copycat fears—The Noah Donohoe Inquest
Thu 7 May 2026
The bars on the storm drain that Noah entered are now closer together.
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49. Other culvert deaths—The Noah Donohoe Inquest
Wed 29 Apr 2026
The jury hears of the tragic death of a man trapped in a culvert during flooding in 2007.
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48. ‘Sensitive’ legal issue—The Noah Donohoe Inquest
Tue 28 Apr 2026
Evidence was delayed while lawyers dealt with a sensitive matter away from the jury.
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47. Witness in handcuffs—The Noah Donohoe Inquest
Mon 27 Apr 2026
Key witness Daryl Paul is serving a prison sentence.
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46. Daryl Paul’s enemy—The Noah Donohoe Inquest
Fri 24 Apr 2026
An enemy of the key witness who stole Noah’s laptop will not appear at the inquest.
