A publican, Tom Nevin, did not make his usual lodgment in the local AIB branch on the Friday before he was shot dead by raiders. Mr Joe Egan, a senior bank official at AIB's Wicklow branch who knew Tom Nevin over 10 years, gave evidence that Mr Nevin last made a lodgment on Monday, March 11th, 1996. He said Mr Nevin's wife, Catherine, came in the following Friday, March 15th, but did not make any lodgments. He gave her coin change for the pub.
It was the 16th day of prosecution evidence in the Central Criminal Court trial. Mrs Catherine Nevin (48) has pleaded not guilty to the murder of her husband, Mr Tom Nevin (54), on March 19th, 1996, in their home at Jack White's Inn, Ballinapark, Co Wicklow.
She has also pleaded not guilty to charges that on dates in 1989 she solicited Mr John Jones; that in or about 1990 she solicited Mr Gerry Heapes; and that on a date unknown in 1990, at St Vincent's Hospital, Dublin, she solicited Mr William McClean, to murder her husband.
Mr Egan told counsel for the DPP, Mr Peter Charleton SC, that Mr Nevin was regular in his banking habits, and the last time he had not come in to do his banking was "when a brother of his died in America. Mrs Nevin came in on that occasion". Asked if there were other occasions that Mr Nevin had not turned up, the witness replied: "He normally did all the lodgments. They are the only two occasions I can recall."
Cross-examined by Mr Paul Burns, defending, Mr Egan agreed he had not dealt with Tom Nevin personally for well over six months before his death. He said he was assuming Mr Nevin came in at lunchtimes when he was not there, because the lodgments were made on Fridays.
Mr Denis Kenny, who has worked as assistant manager in AIB Blanchardstown from 1987, said his check of microfiche records showed that an original account in the name of Catherine Scully, Mrs Nevin's maiden name, was opened in June 1989 with a balance of £8,000. It was transferred to Drumcondra in February 1991.
Mr Gerry Heapes, who has alleged that Mrs Nevin solicited him to murder her husband, has testified that the accused showed him a bank deposit book showing a balance of between £6,000 to £8,000 at the time of the alleged soliciting in or around 1990.
Under cross-examination yesterday, a former worker at Jack White's, Ms Liz Hudson, agreed with Mr Patrick MacEntee SC that after Tom Nevin's murder, "everybody was talking about it". She agreed with counsel that there was a lot of "bitchy gossip" about Mrs Nevin at the time.
Mr MacEntee said it was within that context that his client took her aside and asked her to find out what her work colleague, Jessica Hunter, was telling gardai. Mrs Nevin feared people were "retailing gossip" to the police, Mr MacEntee said.
In evidence, another former staff member, Ms Bernie Fleming, recalled a conversation she had had with Mrs Nevin about keys. Ms Fleming had her own set of keys, she told the court, and another set was normally left hanging in the hall near the front door. She found that this set had gone missing and asked Mrs Nevin about it. Mrs Nevin told her "the judge had them".
On Monday of last week, Mrs Jane Murphy of Redcross, Co Wicklow, who was a cleaner at the inn from 1987 until the shooting of Mr Nevin, gave evidence that "the judge from Arklow" had visited and stayed there. On Friday Ms Liz Hudson said that "Judge O Buachalla" was well known on the premises and at one stage had a set of keys belonging to the inn.
Ms Fleming said that on the day of the murder, Tom Nevin came down from upstairs at about 2.30 or three o'clock. He was "in good form, his usual", she said. Asked what form Mrs Nevin was in, she said: "I found her to be very uneasy. She could not stay still, kind of."
Mr Willie Adams, the owner of a warehouse business in the Ward, close to the North Road in Finglas, told the trial that Mr Gerry Heapes stayed in a Portakabin on his warehouse site when he had "domestic trouble" some time in 1993. Mr Adams said Mr Heapes acted as nightwatchman and had also worked as a delivery driver for him.
Mr Adams said he had never had a reason to give either Tom or Catherine Nevin the telephone number for the Portakabin. Another acquaintance of Mr Heapes, a self-employed security provider, Mr Pearse Moran, told the court he currently provided security for factories or premises that had gone into liquidation.
Mr Moran confirmed that he went to Jack White's Inn twice with Mr Heapes. He said on one of those occasions it was to inquire about properties available in the Wicklow area for an Englishman, a Mr Mark McMullen or a Mr Terry Mullen, whom he had met while working in Leeson Street night-clubs.
The trial continues today before Ms Justice Carroll and a jury.