Donal MacIntyre

THE brother of stabbed gang leader Dessy Noonan led a 16-piece pipe band through the streets of Manchester at his funeral today as black-plummed horses pulled the carriage carrying the coffin.

Hundreds of people lined the road outside St Aidan’s Catholic church in Northern Moor, as the procession for Dessy, 45, arrived.

Desmond Noonan’s brother, Domenyk walked on foot flanked by four men from D J Noonan Security wearing black jackets with the words, “We serve to protect,” written on the back.

Two schools were closed today because of the funeral.

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Manchester gangland boss Desmond Noonan bled to death after he was stabbed, the inquest into his death has heard.

The 46-year-old’s body was found outside a house on Merseybank Avenue in the Chorlton area of Manchester on Friday, 18 March.

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TV’s MacIntyre is helping Mencap

Leading investigative journalist Donal MacIntyre spoke today of the personal reasons why he has signed up as a champion for people with learning disabilities in Northern Ireland.

The broadcaster is due to visit Carrickfergus today to act as guest speaker at a Mencap conference which is exploring the theme of ‘equal chances for all’.

The 39-year-old, who is a patron of the charity alongside the likes of Will Young, Jo Wylie and Lisa Scott Lee, took up the role after seeing first-hand the ill-treatment vulnerable people can be exposed to when he went undercover to investigate abuse in care homes.

The research, carried out as part of his hard-hitting MacIntyre Undercover series, brought a national spotlight on the shocking neglect people with learning disabilities can be subjected to.

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THE funeral of Manchester gangster Desmond Noonan will take place next week.

Desmond "Dessie" Noonan, a 46-year-old father-of-two, died after he was stabbed in Merseybank Avenue in Chorlton, Manchester, last month.

He will be buried at Southern Cemetery a week today after a funeral procession through Northenden, where he lived.

There will be a service at St Aidan’s church in Wythenshawe Road in Northenden.

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BBC producer Phillip Clothier reflects on media treatment of his wife's revelation on their debts

Sunday: My wife Rosie Millard comes upstairs brandishing The Sunday Times. Her article about middle-class debt has been given almost as good a showing as coverage of the Pope's demise.

It's not as if the story of our financial descent is designed to cheer up the readers. Her article says we have overspent on nearly everything and that now forms a new sub-section of the middle class: the impoverished professionals. She says we have four credit cards each with a limit of pounds 10,000. The headline concludes we owe pounds 40,000.

The Daily Mail rings to ask for a follow-up with further photos. Can it capture our four sprogs and us on a lunchtime stroll on Hampstead Heath? We ask politely if we can duck out. We go for a walk on Hampstead Heath, mildly speculating that the Daily Mail photographer might be sent along anyway.

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……

Ever since I can remember, I’ve always wanted to watch programmes about gangsters. Thank goodness, then, for Donal MacIntyre and MacIntyre’s Underworld. A fortnight ago, he delivered a slick but unflattering portrait of the Manchester underworld, revealing the hoods that revolved around crimelord Dominic Noonan to be young, impressionable and rather dim; kids who wanted to be crooks more than they wanted to commit crime. Last week, MacIntyre turned his gaze to Glasgow, which seemed a far more frightening proposition. He spent a lot of time chatting to Paul Ferris, the softly-spoken former gangster who, since his release from prison for gun-running, has been going straight – despite being seen by many as the natural choice to be Glasgow’s next “godfather”.

It’s always interesting to see how an outsider describes what’s happening in your own country, and the wonderment in MacIntyre’s voice when he talked about the intimate weapon of choice for most of Glasgow’s criminals – the knife – was a reminder that we’ve perhaps become inured to reports of slashing and stabbing. There was also more talk of the proposed movie of Ferris’s life, with Robert Carlyle lined up for the lead role. But if Jonathan Watson could perfect a robotic stare, he might be in with a shout too.

10 April 2005
Review By Graeme Virtue
Sunday Herald
http://www.sundayherald.com/48932

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Leading TV journalist Donal MacIntyre was today hosting a major conference in Buckinghamshire which aims to offer support to the country’s older carers.

Latest statistics suggest that there are now 29,000 people with a learning disability in England who live at home with carers aged 70 or over.

After a lifetime of round-the-clock caring for their sons and daughters these parents are entitled to live out their old age with some peace of mind for the future. Instead they often live with the constant fear and anxiety of what will happen to their sons or daughters when they are no longer around to care for them.

The "Looking Forward" carers’ event, organised by Carers Bucks, Mencap and The Princess Royal Trust for Carers, aims to show older carers the support that is available and develop practical solutions to any problems they face.

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