Forensic specialist Niamh Smith at work for the International Committee of the Red Cross in Ukraine, 2025. Credit: ICRC
The fascination with forensic science that has taken Limerick-born Niamh Smith from Scotland Yard to Ukraine via the Middle East and Africa began with the sound of breaking glass late one night more than 30 years ago.
Smith was about 17 and her family was living above a bar run by her father in London, where they had settled after moving over from Ireland a few years earlier. She was studying at about 1am when she heard the fateful crash downstairs.
“I went to have a look and a man I didn’t know appeared at the bottom of the stairs. I roared at him and he ran out. The police were called and I got chatting to the SOCO man – the scene of crimes officer,” she says.
“I became obse
Continue Reading on The Irish Times
This preview shows approximately 15% of the article. Read the full story on the publisher's website to support quality journalism.