AT first the murder at Jack Whites pub, on the main Dublin to Wexford had all the signs of a robbery that went wrong. Tom Nevin, the publican, had been counting the takings from a busy St Patrick's Day weekend when the raiders arrived at his pub near Brittas Bay.

After killing him, they got away with about £15,000.

They appeared to be a Dublin gang which must have sped down the dual carriageway, carried out the raid, and hurried back following a pattern of other robberies in Wicklow over preceding months.

But before long, evidence pointed to a contract killing made to look like a robbery. Gardai are now convinced that is what happened.

Speculation of a breakthrough mounted with a series of arrests which began at the end of last week. Eight people were taken into custody at Enniscorthy Garda station in Co Wexford seven men and a woman.

All were later released and a file was been prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Mr Nevin had been in the bar business for almost 40 of his 55 years. In the last 10 years he had run the pub with his wife, Catherine, who is in her mid 40s.

They built a successful business, getting local custom but relying more on passing trade using the Dublin road.

It was not a trouble free pub. It was known as a place where you could get a late drink. There was the occasional argument between customers.

Two local gardai were suspended after allegations against them connected with the premises (the suspensions were later lifted and the High Court has allowed a judicial review of their case).

The large amount of passing trade makes Jack Whites a busy drinking house rather than a quiet country pub.

Mr Nevin was sitting in the back kitchen, counting the St Patrick's weekend takings, early on the morning of Tuesday, March 19th. He had his books, cash and cheques on the table before him and a pen in hand.

HE may have heard a sound and realised something was wrong. But it was obvious from the way he died he had no time to react. A shotgun was fired at him from less than five feet.

It was a weapon designed to kill there were only a handful of large pellets in the cartridge rather than the usual dozens used for shooting game.

The pellets spread apart a little as they entered Mr Nevin's right lower back. It was more like being hit with five or six bullets than a normal shotgun blast.

He died instantly, falling back and hitting his head on the floor.

Gardai were called to the scene by Catherine Nevin, who pressed an alarm button linked to Arklow Garda Station. She said she had been asleep in her bedroom up stairs when the criminals entered and tied her up. They took some jewellery, she said, and she had heard some sound but did not know it was a shot. She also said she thought she had heard two cars driving off. Mr Nevin's black Opel Omega was missing from outside the pub.

Detectives quickly established there were no signs of a break in at the pub. It seemed a door or window had been left open, that the raiders had keys, or perhaps had hidden in the bar since closing time at midnight.

Ms Nevin had pressed a downstairs alarm button. Fortunately she had not been badly hurt the raiders had bound and gagged her but not roughly.

She was uncertain about how long it had taken her to free herself. She raised the alarm at about 4.30 a.m a post mortem indicated Mr Nevin had probably been shot at or before 3 a.m.

The next day, March 20th, Mr Nevin's car was found in Dublin, parked on Dartmouth Square, off Leeson Street. It had been there since early morning but only came to the attention of gardai at 5 p.m.

Experienced detectives were surprised raiders who stole cars normally burned them afterwards to confound forensic examination but the Omega was undamaged and the keys were in the ignition. The steering wheel was wiped clean of fingerprints.

ONE possible witness emerged at Ashford, on the road between the pub and Dublin. He thought he saw a black Omega head at speed towards Dublin at about 3 a.m.

It was a powerful and not ice able car. Driven at speed it would have covered the 35 miles between the pub and the city in as many minutes.

Mr Nevin was buried at the local Barndarrig Cemetery, his coffin carrying a jersey in the colours of the hurling team of his hometown Tynagh, Co Galway. He had worked hard all his life, he and Catherine building up a bar business in Dublin before moving to Wicklow and buying houses in the city to convert them to flats. He could have looked forward to a comfortable retirement.

Mrs Nevin has proved a resilient woman, determined to carry on running the business. Within a few days of Tom Nevin's death, the pub was reopened and an advertisement was placed in a local paper seeking bar staff.

Garda intelligence points towards the involvement in the murder of a Dublin gang, including IRA members, based in the south inner city. But it is unclear whether the evidence gathered over the last four months can prove who pulled the trigger or who ordered the killing.

The most senior Garda officers have been taking a special interest in the case. The Garda has found it difficult over the past year to solve a number of murders popularly seen as contract killings.

Since the killing of journalist Veronica Guerin at the end of June, the pressure to achieve results has mounted. They badly need a success.