THE pub at a crossroads on the N11 near Brittas Bay, where Tom Nevin was shot dead early yesterday, was an easy target for any determined criminal. The pub had a reputation as easy going local people said you could get a late drink there.
At around 4 a.m. yesterday Mr Nevin was doing accounts in the back kitchen. His three bar staff had left hours before.
It was the end of the Bank Holiday weekend, when Brittas saw its first wave of city visitors. People down to air caravans and summer houses were accustomed to calling late to Jack White's to catch up on the local gossip.
So the call to his door might not have surprised Mr Nevin. There was no sign of a forced entry.
Despite previous robberies in the area and the increasing danger from vicious young Dublin criminals, Tom Nevin was not too concerned about his personal security. He had a legally held shotgun and the pub had an alarm system with panic buttons. He was unable to use either.
It appears Mr Nevin was overcome by members of the gang and frightened into opening his floor safe. The amount stolen was not known yesterday.
The criminals then went up stairs where they found Mrs Catherine Nevin asleep. She was tied to her bed while her jewellery was stolen or strewn around the room.
She broke free and alerted the gardai, who drove quickly to the pub and found her husband dead on the kitchen floor. He had a massive shotgun injury to his lower back. He is believed to have died very quickly.
The killing caused anger as well as concern in an area which has suffered badly from predatory Dublin criminals in recent years.
Earlier yesterday morning a gang, possibly the same one, cut telephone wires to the European Golf Club two miles from Jack White's pub. The club has been robbed four times in the past year, even though no money or drink is kept on the premises.