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

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Throughout the trial Manuela’s mother and father were present. They had sent their daughter to Ireland to improve her English and now they were in court listening to the sordid details of the last few minutes of her life.

On the drive over, her garda escorts had regaled her with tales of bodies found in the park and how, in their considered opinion, this was probably just another ‘junkie’. Terry hated that term. I really enjoy ‘insights books’; insights into the working world of others, careers I would never have thought to train for. This novel opens with a historical account on the emerging role of ‘the coroner’ and explains how the ‘public house’ came to double as undertakers in Ireland (I often wondered about this). Interestingly, it also mentions that the earliest recorded postmortem is the homicide of Julius Caesar! From 2004 until 2018, Dr Marie Cassidy’s image was synonymous with breaking news of high-profile murder cases. From gangland shootings and stabbings, to drug deaths, road traffic accidents and suicides, this former State Pathologist has performed thousands of post-mortems and dealt with hundreds of murders. But two years ago she retired suddenly and moved from Dublin to London, with her husband. A self-confessed workaholic and introvert she set about getting fit, attempted to perfect the art of small talk and – she wrote a book.The Irish psyche is very similar to the Scottish psyche, so it wasn't a huge cultural difference when we arrived." Read More Related Articles Cassidy dissected her first body in an anatomy class during her second year at university. As her studies progressed, she had an inkling that working with the dead, rather than the living, may be where her strengths lay. Body of Truth is full of suspense and the kind of in-depth forensic detail we would expect from a former state pathologist – riveting."

Ryan Tubridy interviewed the first four stars on Friday night's Late Late Show ahead of the new series which Doireann Garrihy and Jennifer Zamparelli on RTÉ One will present. Most of the neighbours didn't know who I was because I never came out of the house. Everybody knew my husband and my kids, but no one knew who this strange woman was. I was a bit like the mad auntie in the attic who was never seen in broad daylight. When I lose sleep it’s because I’m processing my postmortem findings and trying to make sense of them. I feel a tremendous responsibility to get things right, not only for the deceased person but also for their family. The worst diagnosis I can give to a family is that the cause of death is ‘undetermined'”Then there is the matter of eating after a post-mortem. "The smell clings to your hands," she says. "I remember being in Bosnia and we found a McDonald's in Sarajevo. We were eating hamburgers with a knife and fork because if you put your hand up to your mouth, you would have gagged." I haven’t stopped smiling since I was asked to be part of Dancing with the Stars," Dr Cassidy said. Looking ahead to life after the dancefloor, the 63-year-old isn’t ruling out more ventures into the world of reality television. Still, those were different times. She tells a story of going for a senior registrar post in Scotland, in her early days, and being criticised for being "too honest" and told she'd never do well in her chosen career. When the job went to a less-qualified male colleague, she shrugged it off. "They told me I'd get it next round, but I didn't want it."