Trim is a town in County Meath, Ireland. It is situated on the River Boyne and, as of the 2022 census, had a population of 9,563. The town is in a civil parish of the same name.
The town is noted for Trim Castle – the largest Norman castle in Ireland. One of the two cathedrals of the Church of Ireland United Dioceses of Meath and Kildare – St Patrick's cathedral – is located north of the river. Trim won the Irish Tidy Towns Competition in 1972, 1984, 2014 and 2022, and was the joint winner with Ballyconnell in 1974. Trim was historically the county town of Meath, but this title was passed on in 1898 to the larger, neighbouring town of Navan.
Etymology Trim first appears in the historical record as Áth Truimm in an account of the foundation of a church there in 432 by St. Lommán, the town's patron saint, contained in the Book of Armagh.
Situated on the River Boyne, Trim gets its name from the Irish meaning 'the ford of the elder trees', indicating that this was an important fording point on the river. It is thought that the Watergate Street crossing is the original ford point.
The Modern Irish name for the town is .
History Early history
At an early date, a monastery was founded at Trim, which lay within the petty kingdom (tuath) of the Cenél Lóegairi. It is traditionally thought to have been founded by St. Patrick and left in the care of its patron saint Lommán, also locally known as Loman, who flourished sometime between the 5th and early 6th centuries.Stalmans and Charles-Edwards, "Meath, saints of (act. c.400–c.900)" When domestic politics endangered the position of Lommán's foundation, the church of Armagh assimilated Lommán into the dossier of St. Patrick, making him a disciple of that saint. Attackers burned the church several times in the twelfth century. The English first captured the town during the Norman invasion of Ireland, and a castle was built. However, the town was recaptured and the castle burned by a massive Irish army under the command of Ruadhrí Ua Conchobair, King of Ireland. Later, it was refounded as an St. Mary's Abbey under Augustinian rule. The abbey church was the sanctuary for "Our Lady of Trim", a wooden statue reported to work miracles. The statue made Trim a major pilgrimage site from at least 1397. During the Reformation the statue was burned and Henry VIII dissolved the abbey. The abbey's bell tower, the "Yellow Steeple", is the primary remnant of St. Mary's.
With the spelling "Áth Truim", the bishopric is today listed by the Catholic Church as a titular see.Annuario Pontificio 2013 (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2013 ), p. 841 Since it is not mentioned in either of the lists of the reduced number of sees approved by the Synod of Ráth Breasail (1111) and the Synod of Kells (1152), it was one of the monastic establishments that were no longer recognized as seats of bishops after the 12th-century reorganization of the Church in Ireland. Its territory was joined to that of Meath Diocese.
Norman period
Lying 61 m above sea level on the River Boyne, Trim became one of the most important Hiberno-Norman settlements in the Middle Ages. In the 15th century, the Norman-Irish parliament met in Trim. Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington is reputed to have been born in Dangan Castle between Trim and Summerhill, and a large column to him was erected in the town in 1817. The town's main feature is Ireland's largest Norman castle, Trim Castle; other features include two ruined church complexes, the Boyne River for fishing, and the Butterstream Gardens, visited by Charles, Prince of Wales in the mid-nineties (no longer open to the public).
Trim Castle (or King John's Castle) is Ireland's largest Norman castle. It was built in the late 12th century following the Norman invasion of Ireland. Trim and the surrounding lands were granted to Hugh de Lacy, Lord of Meath, a Norman baron. Richard II of England stayed there before being ousted from power. Once a candidate to be the country's capital, the town has also occupied a role as one of the outposts of the Pale, and sessions of the Irish Parliament were sometimes held here, as in 1542. It was also designated by Elizabeth I of England as the planned location for a Protestant Dublin University (known as Trinity College Dublin). However this was revised by Sir Francis Drake, who advocated the case for locating the university in Dublin.
Later history In 1649, after the sacking of Drogheda, the garrison of Trim fled to join other Irish forces and the town was occupied by the army of Oliver Cromwell.
There were many local disturbances in neighbouring villages in the Irish Rebellion of 1798, most infamously the battle on the Hill of Tara, following the dispersal of the Wexford rebellion. Trim was represented by Arthur Wellesley in the Irish Parliament from 1790 to 1797.
The 19th century saw the construction of Trim Courthouse, St. Loman's Catholic church, St. Patrick's Anglican church, the Wellington column, the current Bank of Ireland building, and Castle Street by Lord Dunsany, a major landowner. Following the Great Irish Famine of 1846–1849, the practices of agriculture in the hinterland altered, with a change in emphasis from tillage to stock raising. This resulted in a change in the business life of Trim. Trim developed as a market town for the productive agricultural hinterland. Some small-scale local industries were developed, including envelope, and leather product manufacturing. Trim was also chosen as a location for the Timoney Engineering company to make Fire Tenders. However, in the main, the town continued to mainly be a service centre for its immediate area.
20th century and contemporary
During the Irish War of Independence, local companies of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) took Trim RIC Barracks, a large structure located on the current site of the Castle Arch Hotel, secured the arms from the barracks and then burnt down the Barracks. A large part of the town was burned as a reprisal by the British Crown forces on 26 September 1920.Anglo-Celt, Saturday, 2 October 1920 The local members were drawn from Trim, Longwood, Ballivor and South Meath in general. The Lalor brothers from Castle St. were prominent members of the IRA as well as the Duignans from High St and the Proctors. Records of the adventures of the Lalors rest in Navan library and recount the tales of one of the brothers hiding in the recently dug grave of Fr. Woods in the churchyard. Local memories recall the townspeople sheltering down by the Boyne for a few nights as the Black and Tans and the Auxiliaries burnt out several businesses and the town hall. Footage of the burning of J&E Smyth can be viewed on the 'Pathe' website. The newspapers reported the burning of the barracks and the subsequent looting and burning of the town and follow-up operations by the local IRA.
In later years, the Lalors who moved to the house across the road from the old Brothers school had a collection of memorabilia from those years including letters from Michael Collins sent from Frongoch (they kept the originals and forward duplicates to HQ), Éamon de Valera's slippers and a Tricolour made by Constance Markievicz (with her name embroidered) that was to fly over the GPO during the 1916 Easter Rising. Their whereabouts now are unknown but photographs of their existence are on file in Navan library.
A new bridge was built on the Boyne in the 1980s to divert heavy traffic from the town. This was then enhanced by the construction, in stages, of an inner relief road, which now makes it possible for heavy traffic to achieve a complete by-pass of the town. The Watergate Bridge was replaced in 2005.
As part of the Civil Service decentralisation plan of the Irish government, Trim was chosen as the location of the headquarters for the state body known as the Office of Public Works. The movement of this state administration function to Trim resulted in Trim being the first location outside of Dublin to complete a decentralisation move.
Places of interest
Trim Castle, the largest Cambro-Norman castle in Ireland which was built by Hugh de Lacy, Lord of Meath. It was used in the production of the film Braveheart and the 1980 film The Big Red One, starring Lee Marvin and Mark Hamill, was also partially shot in Trim and in particular at Trim Castle. St Patrick's church (Roman Catholic), Church Street St. Patrick's Cathedral Church (Church of Ireland), Loman Street. It is reputed to be the oldest Anglican Church in Ireland (disputed by a church in Armagh which claims its 20 years older than the Trim Church). The original church lies in ruins behind the current newer church which faces onto Loman Street from behind a large boundary wall. The Town Hall, known locally as the Market House, is reputed to have been one of Thin Lizzy's first concert venues, and has seen U2 and several other noted bands play there over the years. The Yellow Steeple (named so for the way the sun sets and rises on it in the giving it a yellow colour), the remains of a 14th-century St. Mary's Abbey on a hillside near the town centre, is the tallest building in Trim and can be seen for kilometres around the town. The Town Walls – Though not much remains of the original walls of Trim, the "Sheep Gate" stands near the 'yellow steeple' and the castle. The wall in this area is in ruins but it marks the original town boundary, the only intact part of the wall stands on Loman Street It is not marked by any signs but it starts around the front of St. Patrick's Anglican church and runs down to the local Costa Coffee (previously The Priory Inn). The Black Friary – A 13th century Dominican friary located just outside the town walls. The excavation of the remains of the friary is part of the Blackfriary community archaeology project. The Boyne river walk is a walkway along the river Boyne starting at the castle park and running along the Boyne to Newtown abbey. The total walk to Newtown and back takes about 40 minutes. Newtown Abbey lies on the banks of the Boyne about 15 minutes' walk from Trim Castle. It once was the largest abbey of its kind in Ireland. It is still used as a graveyard for the town so there are no guided tours but there are many information boards with pictures of what certain areas used to look like. St. John's Priory, a medieval hospital, lies across the Boyne from Newtown abbey. This structure is again free access. At the entrance there is a defence tower which used to form part of the walls of the hospital. Trim Circuit Courthouse – Built in the 19th century, the courthouse overlooks the main street of the town and is located next to the main entrance of the castle. It has been extended with an award-winning design. Wellington Monument – The Duke of Wellington was born in Ireland and spent some of his childhood near Trim. It takes the form of a column surmounted by a statue of the Duke, and was erected in 1817.
Events
Trim Vintage and Veteran Car Show An annual classic car show takes place in Trim every July, Trim Veteran and Vintage Rally has been running since 1985. It started in a small yard on Loman Street with just 1 car. The founder, Norman Pratt, along with his hand-picked committee, were determined to expand the show, approached the Roundtree family who allowed the Porch Fields to be used on the day. The committee included secretary Ms. Iris Wilson, PRO Frank Dempsey, Billy Wilson, and George Douglas. It has grown each year since then and there are now in excess of 500 cars and motorcycles on show. Visitors to the show can also try their hand at archery with Athboy Archery Club. The archery has always been a big success at the fair.
Trim Haymaking Festival