Meet Ireland’s all-female team of state pathologists: ‘It’s the CSI effect – expectations are higher now’

During his tenure as Ireland’s second state pathologist, Prof John Harbison was immediately recognisable with his deerstalker hat and tweed suit; his successor, Prof Marie Cassidy, would routinely wear heels and lipstick alongside her regulatory protective clothing. As state pathologists, they were well-known figures as the public watched them stride purposefully into Ireland’s crime and murder scenes on the television news. Both were renowned for taking their work seriously and approaching cases of extreme violence with care and empathy.

And so it goes for Linda Mulligan, Ireland’s current Chief State Pathologist — although she can take or leave the media attention that comes with the job..