Beyond the Tape: The Life and Many Deaths of a State Pathologist

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The only time she seems a little riled is when she recalls how the role of forensic pathologist was portrayed on screen. Cassidy swapped Glasgow for Dublin in 1998 to take up the role as Ireland's deputy state pathologist and found herself thrown into the public arena. "The Irish are obsessed with death," she says, wryly. The woman, who was believed to have died in a housefire, was actually found to have been stabbed several times.

It was only literally when I produced my book [Beyond the Tape], and they had a look at it and there was a sort of stony silence and I thought, ‘oh dear God it must have been really bad," she explained.I prefer the fiction because I know then that there’s a lot of artistic licenses, shall we say, and I quite like that,” she laughs. “I quite like that it's real but it’s not real and I can cope with that and there’s a limit to the amount of violence that they can actually show because strangely enough, I don’t like violence very much." Well, Sarah is an assistant fashion buyer with River Island and my son Kieran is a lawyer with Arthur Cox. And no, I’ll never be a grandmother, because they’re just like me and don’t like kids either! [laughing again] Pic: Lili Forberg for VIP Magazine

Considine said: “Fans of Patricia Cornwell will delight in her creation, Dr Terry O’Brien, a young pathologist with a troubled past and exceptional forensic skills. Body of Truth is full of suspense and the kind of in-depth forensic detail we would expect from a former state pathologist.” It was humbling to meet them and express my sympathy for their loss, the loss of their ‘angel’. They presented all of us with a small porcelain figurine of an angel lest we forget Manuela. Mine looks down on me as I sit at my desk, a constant reminder of the fragility of life. Advances in DNA and forensics only eventually led to Nash being arrested for the two murders, with him being sentenced to two more life sentences in 2015. The biggest compliment I got was people saying: 'You don't look anything like a forensic pathologist'. I'd go: 'Yes!' and 'What does a forensic pathologist look like?' People had this idea that you had to be some grumpy old man. That is just not reality. Even so, she says, "You have to get used to not being at that birthday party, there will be days you will miss. So the time I did have was theirs," she says, referring to her two children, now grown up and living in London.

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Retired State Pathologist Professor Marie Cassidy arriving to the trial of murdered schoolgirl, Ana Kriegel (Image: Collins Photo Agency) What age is she? State Pathologist's Office". Department of Justice and Equality. Archived from the original on 26 January 2013 . Retrieved 10 November 2012. Since 1996, 261 women have died violently in the Republic of Ireland. According to Women’s Aid, 63% were killed in their own homes, 55% were killed by a partner or ex and almost 9 in 10 women knew their killer. You have to be able to cope with it and that’s maybe where the strength comes in. You can deal with the situations and it doesn’t affect you, you don’t take it home, you can’t.”