Dr Marie Cassidy has been appointed to the position of State Pathologist.The appointment, which came into effect last Friday, means Dr Cassidy will now take the place of the outgoing State Pathologist Prof John Harbison.
Prof Harbison has not performed any post-mortem examinations since January 1st, 2003. However, despite the fact he will not take on any new cases, he will continue to give evidence relating to deaths where he carried out the examinations.
Dr Cassidy was appointed Deputy State Pathologist in 1997 by the then Minister for Justice, Mr John O'Donoghue, taking up the post in January 1998. She remained in that position until her promotion last Friday.
She previously held the post of consultant forensic pathologist in the Department of Forensic Medicine and Science at Glasgow University.
Her appointment to the €140,000 per year post is due to be officially announced by the Department of Justice today.
The position of Deputy State Pathologist was advertised with the State Pathologist position last July. However, a candidate has not yet been found to fill that €120,000 per year post.
