Computer engineering
While attending Salesian College secondary school in Celbridge, Co Kildare, Noonan met Damien Rice, Dominic Phillips and Brian Crosby. The four would first be members of a folk group that entailed Noonan using school lockers as percussion. In 1991, they would form Juniper, comprising Noonan on drums, Rice on vocals, and Crosby and Phillips on guitars and bass, respectively. Friend and multi-instrumentalist David Geraghty came in to complete the line-up. In 1995, Noonan graduated from Trinity College with a BAI in Computer engineering.