Mrs Catherine Nevin has sold the Co Wicklow pub in which her husband, Mr Tom Nevin, was murdered nearly two years ago. Mrs Nevin (46), who has been charged with her husband's murder, is understood to have received more than £500,000 for the pub, Jack White's, in Brittas Bay.
Half of the proceeds will go to Mr Nevin's estate, which is the subject of a legal dispute between Mrs Nevin and her deceased husband's family. However, Mrs Nevin is free to dispose of the remaining half as she sees fit.
Mrs Nevin, who had lived at the pub prior to the sale, is now residing in Dublin and is signing on at a city centre Garda station in accordance with new bail conditions which were set recently by the High Court.
She is awaiting trial on charges of murdering her 54-year-old husband and of soliciting three men to kill him six years before his death.
The pub, a well-known landmark near Arklow on the main Dublin-Rosslare road, was bought in partnership by a local farmer, Mr Derek Weld, his son Stuart and Mr John Kennedy, a chef, who is originally from Carlow.
The estate agent who handled the sale, Mr Sean Nalty, of Nalty and Associates in Arklow, confirmed that the transaction was completed last month. The pub is being run by Mr Stuart Weld and Mr Kennedy, who took over the premises last week.
Mr Nevin was shot dead in the back room of the pub in the early hours of March 19th, 1996. Mrs Nevin, who was reported to have been tied to her bed by an intruder, raised the alarm later the same morning after freeing herself.
She was charged in April last year with the murder and with soliciting three men to kill him. The soliciting charges relate to various dates in 1989 and 1990.
Mr Nevin's estate, valued at £250,000 prior to the sale of the pub, has been the subject of a legal battle between Mrs Nevin and her late husband's family since early last year.
Mrs Nevin challenged a caveat entered by her mother-in-law, Mrs Nora Nevin, from Co Galway. The High Court refused to lift the caveat which was to prevent Mrs Catherine Nevin from administering the estate.
The court ruled that Mrs Catherine Nevin could collect in all the assets of her late husband's estate, but could not distribute them. Mrs Nevin said she would appeal that decision to the Supreme Court.
As the pub was in the couple's joint ownership, Mrs Nevin's half of the proceeds from the sale is not affected by the caveat.
