Donal MacIntyre

TWO SECONDARY schools in south Manchester were wrong to close on the day of the funeral of gangster Desmond Noonan, education chiefs have ruled.

The heads of Chorlton High School and St Thomas Aquinas RC High School in Chorlton decided to close on the day of the funeral at nearby Southern Cemetery, after advice from police.

But the move angered some parents and was slammed as a "bad decision" by council leader Cllr Richard Leese – prompting an investigation by council officials.

KILLED:Desmond Noonan’s coffin arrives at the church

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HUNDREDS of mourners, many from Manchester’s gangland underworld, paid their last respects to the notorious crime enforcer Desmond “Dessie” Noonan yesterday.

His brother Dominic, an even more feared gangland figure, led the funeral procession the 500 yards from the family home on a council estate in south Manchester for the Requiem Mass at St Aidan’s RC Church.

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HUNDREDS of mourners said farewell yesterday to one of Britain’s toughest crime barons.

Desmond Noonan, 46, was stabbed to death last month on his way home from a pub in Manchester.

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Around 3,000 mourners will attend the funeral today of one of Britain’s most notorious gangsters, murdered days before appearing in a fly-on-the-wall TV documentary.

Desmond Noonan, 46, appeared on TV in the programme about the underworld where he was linked to 27 murders in Manchester.

In the film, Noonan, who had a string of convictions for serious crime, boasted to investigative reporter Donal MacIntyre about his criminal reputation.

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Hundreds of mourners attended the funeral today of one of Britain’s most notorious crime bosses.

Four black plumed horses drew the hearse carrying Desmond Noonan, who was stabbed to death last month in Chorlton, Manchester.

His murder came just days before he appeared in a channel Five fly-on-the-wall TV documentary boasting of his crime empire.

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AN investigation has been launched into why two Manchester schools closed for the funeral of gang leader Desmond Noonan.

Chorlton High and St Thomas Aquinas RC High were shut yesterday in the wake of police advice that thousands of mourners were expected to turn up at nearby Southern Cemetery.

Council chiefs are now investigating after the police said "they did not believe it was necessary" and city council leader Coun Richard Leese said it was the "wrong decision."

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Hundreds of people have been paying their respects to murdered gangland leader Desmond Noonan.
The 45-year-old’s body was found outside a house on Merseybank Avenue, Chorlton, on Friday 18 March.

Traffic was at a standstill as the horse-drawn hearse carried his body to St Aidan’s Church in south Manchester.

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PARENTS have condemned the decision to shut two schools today because of the funeral of gangster Desmond Noonan.

Staff at Chorlton High School and Thomas Aquinas High School sent a letter home with nearly 1,800 pupils telling their families that the schools would be closed on the advice of the police and education authority.

Both schools are in Nell Lane near Southern Cemetery, where the funeral cortege will travel with an estimated 3,000 mourners.

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