A LIBRARIAN at Trinity College Dublin who was found unresponsive on the living room couch by her elderly mother suffered from the eating disorder anorexia and was at work the day before her death, an inquest has heard.
Anne Walsh (42), Templeogue Woods, Templeogue, Dublin, was found by her mother Patricia Walsh on the morning of November 28th, 2007, Dublin County Coroner's Court heard.
Deputy librarian at Trinity College Jessica Curtis told the inquest that Ms Walsh's attendance and performance at work were exemplary, and that she was at work on November 27th, despite having a very bad cough. She last took sick leave in 2005, she said. Staff at the library were concerned about Ms Walsh's poor health and an appointment had been arranged for her to see someone in occupational therapy.
A postmortem found Ms Walsh, who was diagnosed with anorexia nervosa when she was 18, was emaciated and had a body mass index of 10.7. According to the world health index, anything below 18.5 is considered underweight, the court heard. It found she died of bronchial pneumonia secondary to malnutrition, secondary to anorexia nervosa.
Coroner Dr Kieran Geraghty said she suffered from a personality disorder that caused withdrawal of food. He expressed his condolences to the Walsh family.