THE murderers of Arklow publican Mr Thomas Nevin may have got away with about £20,000, it emerged yesterday.
Mr Nevin, who owned Jack White's pub near the Wicklow town, suffered a fatal shotgun wound during a robbery at his premises on Tuesday morning.
Yesterday, detectives found Mr Nevin apparently made no lodgements to a bank night safe during the St Patrick's day weekend, suggesting his killers escaped with the pub's weekend's takings.
It appears they knew Mr Nevin's habits and may have been observing him for some weeks.
Gardai yesterday conducted house inquiries on the main Dublin to Wexford road, north of Arklow. Technical experts examined the pub and the Nevins' car, used by the raiders and found in Dublin on Tuesday evening.
A post mortem showed Mr Nevin died from a single shotgun wound in the upper right side of his back. Gardai are unsure if he was intentionally shot or the gun was fired in a struggle.
The shot seems to have been fired no more than three feet from Mr Nevin's body. There was also bruising to the back of Mr Nevin's head, probably caused when he fell after being shot.
The shooting, initially thought to have occurred at about 4 a.m. on Tuesday, could have been about an hour earlier. There was no sign of a break in at the pub, suggesting that Mr Nevin either admitted the raiders while counting the takings or that at least one of them was on the property when he locked the doors.
Gardai trying to contact Monday's customers say the response to their appeal for information has been good. But the task is made difficult since the pub is on, the main road and there was a large passing trade.
The raiders escaped in two cars - their own and Mr Nevin's Opel, which was found abandoned off Leeson Street in Dublin on Tuesday evening. Mr Nevin's funeral takes place today at 3 p.m. at Barndearig Church near Arklow.
The Vintners Federation of Ireland Wicklow representative, Mr Peter Moore, said publicans would have to be more security conscious.
"Publicans were in the habit of opening doors to people without worrying about security arrangements. They have got to be a lot more security conscious now and arrange some sort of security back up," he said.