It was less than two months since his wife had been found guilty of his murder, a murder which had occurred more than 23 years previously. Vera McGrath was now serving a life sentence, while Colin Pinder, who had been found guilty of manslaughter, was still awaiting sentence. He would later be jailed for nine years. Local funeral director Michael Cassidy met Gardaí at Mullingar Hospital and received the body of Brian McGrath. Back in 1993, when forensic science of the time had failed to establish Brian’s identity to a mathematical certainty, it was Michael Cassidy who had taken care of the burial of the ‘unidentified’ man, who everyone believed was indeed Brian McGrath. Michael had been present at the exhumation of the body in May 2008, pointing out to detectives the precise plot where he had buried Brian fifteen years previously. Now he was helping to bring Brian on his final journey. Michael brought Brian’s coffin to the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Coole, where Brian’s daughter Veronica and sons Andrew, Brian Jnr and Edward and other members of the family said a final farewell.
