Ireland (Lonely Planet, 9th Edition) - Fionn Davenport [475]
Bank of Ireland (Market St) Exchanges money and has an ATM.
Emmy’s Internet ( 046-948 3498; Market St; per 20 min €1; 10.30am-8pm Mon-Sat, 2-4pm Sun)
Post office (cnr Emmet & Market Sts)
Tourist office ( 046-943 7227; Castle St; 9.30am-5.30pm Mon-Sat) Has a handy tourist trail map with information on the most important sights in town.
Sights
TRIM CASTLE
This remarkably preserved edifice was Ireland’s largest Anglo-Norman fortification and is proof of Trim’s medieval importance. Hugh de Lacy founded the truly impressive Trim Castle (King John’s Castle; 046-943 8619; www.heritageireland.ie; adult/child €4/2, grounds only €3/1; 10am-6pm Easter-Oct, 9.30am-5pm Sat & Sun Nov-Easter, last admission one hr before closing) in 1173, but Rory O’Connor, said to have been the last high king of Ireland, destroyed this motte and bailey within a year. The building you see today was begun around 1200 and has hardly been modified since.
Throughout Anglo-Norman times the castle occupied a strategic position on the western edge of the Pale, the area where the Anglo-Normans ruled supreme; beyond Trim was the volatile country where Irish chieftains and lords fought with their Norman rivals and vied for position, power and terrain. By the 16th century, the castle had begun to fall into decline and in 1649, when the town was taken by Cromwellian forces, it was severely damaged.
In 1996, the castle briefly returned to its former glory as a location for Mel Gibson’s Braveheart, in which it served as a ‘castle double’ for the castle at York. A small booklet sold at the castle gives a fuller insight into its history and acts as a handy guide for touring the grounds.
The castle’s grassy 2 hectare enclosure is dominated by a massive stone keep, 25m tall and mounted on a Norman motte. Inside are three levels, the lowest divided by a central wall. Just outside the central keep are the remains of an earlier wall.
The principal outer–curtain wall, some 500m long and for the most part still standing, dates from around 1250 and includes eight towers and a gatehouse. It also has a number of sally gates from which defenders could exit to confront the enemy. The finest stretch of the outer wall runs from the River Boyne through Dublin Gate to Castle St. Within the northern corner was a church and, facing the river, the Royal Mint, which produced Irish coinage (called ‘Patricks’ and ‘Irelands’) into the 15th century.
In 1971, excavations in the castle grounds revealed the remains of 10 headless men, presumably hapless criminals who fell foul of Edward IV’s 1465 decree that anyone who had robbed or ‘who was going to rob’ should be beheaded, their heads mounted on spikes and publicly displayed as a warning to other thieves.
In the car park is a Russian cannon, a trophy from the Crimean War, which bears the tsarist double-headed eagle.
TRIM VISITOR CENTRE
Sharing space in the town hall with the tourist office is the informative Trim Heritage Centre ( 046-943 7227; Town Hall, Castle St; admission adult/child €3.20/1.50; 9.30am-5.30pm Mon-Sat), where you can watch a 20-minute video outlining the medieval history of Trim. There’s a coffee shop here, too.
The Meath Heritage Centre ( 046-943 6633; www.meathroots.com; Town Hall, Castle St; initial consultation €30; 9am-1pm & 1.30-5pm Mon-Thu, 9am-2pm Fri) has an extensive genealogical database for people trying to trace Meath ancestors. Write in advance for the best results.
TALBOT CASTLE & ST MARY’S ABBEY
Across the River Boyne from the castle are the ruins of the 12th-century Augustinian St Mary’s Abbey, rebuilt after a fire in 1368, and once home to a wooden statue of Our Lady of Trim, which was revered by the faithful for its miraculous powers.
Part of the abbey was converted in 1415 into a fine manor house by Sir John Talbot, then viceroy of Ireland; it came to be known as Talbot Castle. The Talbot coat of arms can be seen on the northern wall. Talbot went to war in France where, in 1429, he was defeated