A CAREER criminal and heroin addict who took part in an armed robbery in which well-known publican Charlie Chawke was shot has died in hospital after a long illness.
Larry Cummins (59) was serving his sentence in Mountjoy Prison, Dublin, for the attack which resulted in Mr Chawke having his right leg amputated.
Cummins had spent periods in recent months in the Mater hospital, Dublin, where he died yesterday morning.
From Summerhill in Dublin’s north inner city, Cummins had about 70 convictions, the first of which was recorded in 1961 when he was just 11-years-old.
He was sentenced to 15-years imprisonment in July 2006 for his role in the attack on Mr Chawke. The publican was shot as he was leaving his Goat Grill pub in Goatstown, south Dublin, after collecting the weekend’s takings in October 2003.
While Cummins was armed with a single-barrel shotgun during the incident, it was his accomplice – Frank Ward (54) – who fired the shot at Mr Chawke during a scuffle over almost €49,000 Mr Chawke had taken from the pub in a bag.
“I’ll f*****g sort you out!” Ward shouted at Mr Chawke before shooting him at close range with a pump-action shotgun.
Both men were caught when unarmed gardaí in the area chased their vehicle into the Stillorgan Heath estate off the Upper Kilmacud Road.
During the chase Cummins pointed his gun at the pursuing Garda car. Cummins also pointed his gun at the head of one garda who tried to tackle him at the Goat Grill before the car chase.
Ward, who was jailed for life for his role in the attack, shouted at Cummins to shoot the gardaí during the confrontation outside the pub.
Cummins had served almost 20 prison sentences. He had convictions for drug dealing, armed robbery, possession of firearms, assault and receiving stolen goods.
In 1982 he was tried but acquitted of the murder of Dubliner Christopher Shannon, shot dead in 1979 in a car near Croke Park. During the trial he admitted he had an interest in guns.
When asked by Paul Carney SC for what purpose he replied: “For armed robberies.”
In 1981 he was sentenced to periods of eight and five years for aggravated burglary and firearms offences. Those charges related to the robbery of the Cappagh House pub in Finglas, Dublin.
In 1992 he was jailed for 5½ years for his role in the robbery of £68,000 from the Bank of Ireland in Newbridge, Co Kildare.
Cummins and an accomplice arrived at the bank in a blue van with the logo “Securicor Parcels” on the side. Suspicions were raised because the word “Parcels” was incorrectly spelt “Parsels”.