Department 'unaware' of any plans to replace sole pathologist at Cork University Hospital

The Department of Justice is “unaware” of any contingency plans for postmortem examinations in Cork University Hospital (CUH) in the event that a sole pathologist leaves her post.

CUH is one of Ireland’s largest postmortem examination (PME) centres, providing around 1,000 of the approximately 6,000 examinations performed in the country each year.

In a submission to justice minister Jim O’Callaghan in September 2025, civil servants wrote: “The current service in Cork/Kerry is predominantly provided by a Cork-based histopathologist with help from two external locums. This histopathologist also provides forensic PME services as a locum to the OSP [Office of the State Pathologist]."

Unaware of contingency plans

"The department is unaware of contingency plans for Cork should that histopathologist no longer be available to conduct coroner-directed PMEs.”

Margot Bolster, the pathologist in question, is understood to be nearing her 70s. 

She also works as the assistant state pathologist, investigating homicides and suspicious deaths. Her work in Cork is supported by two locum pathologists from Greece and Egypt. Cork also avails of Hungarian locum pathologists in Limerick.

The brief to Mr O’Callaghan was prepared in September 2025 as postmortem services in University Hospital Waterford faced an existential threat, as consultant pathologists left the hospital with no replacements. 

The service is now upheld by locum pathologists imported from Britain.

The use of locum pathologists has become frequent as Irish hospitals struggle to recruit pathologists.

In the same submission to Mr O’Callaghan, he was warned that issues can arise “particularly during holiday periods such as Christmas and Easter when the locums can be unavailable.”

Mr O’Callaghan was also told the Dublin District Mortuary was becoming overwhelmed with demand as three hospitals across Dublin shuttered their service over the past year.

The facility was originally designed to conduct just 400 PMEs a year, but now operates at twice its capacity, according to the chief state pathologist.

Alarm bells raised

Mr O’Callaghan wrote to health minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill on the back of the submission, raising alarm bells over Ireland’s post-mortem services.

He said the grace and favour model, in which consultant pathologists conduct postmortems outside of hospital working hours, “was no longer sustainable or capable of meeting Irish cultural expectations concerning burial”.

Two months later, Ms Carroll MacNeill said: “My department, together with the HSE, remains fully committed to supporting the Department of Justice in addressing the urgent challenges within the coronial system.”

Sources in the sector have said post-mortem services are in “crisis”, and have taken issue with working conditions for pathologists and a lack of Government funding.