Trim is the traditional
county townA county town is the 'capital' of a county in Republic of Ireland or the United Kingdom. County towns are usually the location of administrative or judicial functions, or established over time as the de facto main town of a county. The concept of a county town eventually became detached from its...
of
County MeathCounty Meath is one of the traditional counties of Ireland and is located within the province of Leinster. It was named after the historic kingdom and province of Mide....
in
IrelandIreland is a country in north-western Europe. The modern sovereign state occupies about five-sixths of the island of Ireland, which was partitioned on 3 May 1921. It is a parliamentary democracy and a republic...
, although the county town is now
NavanNavan is the largest town and county town or administrative capital of County Meath, Ireland. It is thought to be one of the few places in the world to have a palindromic name .-Name:...
. The town was recorded in the 2006 census to have a population of 6,870.
The development of a new town centre expansion zone immediately to the west of the existing town centre (at Townparks, Market Street and Emmet Street) is due to begin early in 2007. This will comprise open civic spaces, retail and office space, residential developments and a new headquarters for the
Office of Public WorksThe Office of Public Works is a State Agency of the Department of Finance in the Republic of Ireland...
, which is due to decentralise to the town by 2009. Trim won the
Irish Tidy Towns CompetitionThe Irish National Tidy Towns Competition is an annual competition organized by the Irish Government's Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government...
in 1972, 1984 and was joint winners with
BallyconnellBallyconnell is a town in County Cavan, Ireland. It is situated at the junction of four townlands Annagh, Cullyleenan, Doon and Derryginny in the parish of Tomregan, Barony of Tullyhaw. The town has an altitude of 55 metres above sea level. The mean daily January temperature is 4.5 degrees Celsius...
,
County CavanCounty Cavan is one of the traditional counties of Ireland. It is located within the province of Ulster. It was named after the town of Cavan . It is one of three counties situated in the province of Ulster without being part of Northern Ireland. The county is bordered by County Monaghan, County...
in 1974.
History
Lying 61 m above sea level on the
River BoyneThe River Boyne is a river in Leinster, Ireland, the course of which is about 112 kilometres long. It rises at Trinity Well, Newbury Hall, near Carbury, County Kildare, and flows towards the Northeast through County Meath to reach the Irish Sea outside Drogheda. Salmon and trout can be caught in...
, Trim was one of the most important
Hiberno-NormanThe term Hiberno-Norman is used of those Norman lords who settled in Ireland, admitting little if any real fealty to the Anglo-Norman settlers in England. It refers to both the origins of the community and the dialect of Norman-French used by them as they developed in Ireland from 1169 until the...
settlements in the
Middle AgesThe Middle Ages of European history is a period of European history covering roughly a millennium in the 5th century through 16th centuries. More specific starting and ending points are sometimes adopted by scholars to suit their respective specializations or current focus...
. In the 15th century the
Norman-IrishThe term Hiberno-Norman is used of those Norman lords who settled in Ireland, admitting little if any real fealty to the Anglo-Norman settlers in England. It refers to both the origins of the community and the dialect of Norman-French used by them as they developed in Ireland from 1169 until the...
parliamentA parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French parlement, the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at...
met in Trim.
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of WellingtonField Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, KP, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Anglo-Irish soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the nineteenth century....
is reputed to have been born in Dangan Castle between Trim and
SummerhillSummerhill is a village in County Meath, Ireland. It is located at the intersection of the R156 and R158 regional roads. The Irish version of the town's name means "Lynch's Hill", and it was the ancestral home of the Norman-Irish Lynch family, from whence came the Galway merchant family of the...
, and a large column to him was erected in the town during British rule, in 1817. The town's main feature is Ireland's largest castle,
Trim CastleTrim Castle , Trim, County Meath, Ireland, on the shores of the Boyne has an area of 30,000 m². It is the remains of the largest Norman castle in Europe, and Ireland's largest castle...
; other features include two ruined church complexes, the Boyne River for fishing and the Butterstream Gardens, visited by
Charles, Prince of WalesCharles, Prince of Wales is the eldest child of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Since 1952, he has been heir apparent to the thrones of the Commonwealth realms. After earning a bachelor of arts from Trinity College, Cambridge, Charles served a tour of duty with Royal Navy...
in the mid-nineties (no longer open to the public).
The town is home to Western Europe's largest
NormanThe term Norman architecture is used to categorise styles of Romanesque architecture developed by the Normans in the various lands under their dominion or influence in the 11th and 12th centuries. In particular the term is traditionally used for English Romanesque architecture...
castleA castle is a defensive structure seen as one of the main symbols of the Middle Ages. The term has a history of scholarly debate surrounding its exact meaning, but it is usually regarded as being distinct from the general terms fort or fortress, in that it describes a residence of a monarch or...
,
Trim CastleTrim Castle , Trim, County Meath, Ireland, on the shores of the Boyne has an area of 30,000 m². It is the remains of the largest Norman castle in Europe, and Ireland's largest castle...
(or King John's Castle) which was built in the late 12th century following the
Norman invasion of IrelandThe Norman invasion of Ireland was a Norman military expedition to Ireland that took place on 1 May 1169 at the behest of Dermot MacMurrough , the King of Leinster. It was partially consolidated by Henry II on 18 October 1171 and led to the eventual entry of the Lordship of Ireland into the Angevin...
's eastern seaboard. Trim and the surrounding lands were granted to
Hugh de LacyHugh de Lacy was the founder of a Norman noble family of de Lacy originating from Lassy . The descendants of Hugh de Lacy left Normandy and came to Saxon England with William the Conqueror in 1066, to become major landowners in the North of England....
, a Norman knight.
Richard II of EnglandRichard II was the eighth King of England of the House of Plantagenet. He ruled from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. Richard was a son of Edward, the Black Prince and was born during the reign of his grandfather, Edward III...
stayed there before being ousted from power 1412. Once a candidate to be the country's capital, the town has also occupied a role as one of the outposts of
the PaleThe Pale or the English Pale , was the part of Ireland that was directly under the control of the English government in the late Middle Ages. It had reduced by the late 1400s to an area along the east coast stretching from Dalkey, south of Dublin, to the garrison town of Dundalk north of Drogheda...
. It was also designated by Elizabeth I of England as the planned location for a Protestant Dublin University (known as
Trinity College, DublinTrinity College Dublin , corporately designated as the Provost, Fellows and Scholars of the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", and is the only constituent college of...
). However this was revised by Sir Francis Drake, who advocated the case for locating the University in
DublinDublin is the largest city and capital of Ireland. It is officially known in Irish as Baile Átha Cliath or Áth Cliath ; the English name comes from the Irish Dubh Linn meaning "black pool". It is located near the midpoint of Ireland's east coast, at the mouth of the River Liffey and at the...
. In 1649 after the
sacking of DroghedaDrogheda, a town in eastern Ireland, was besieged twice in the 1640s, during the Irish Confederate Wars and the Irish theatre of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. The first siege occurred during the Irish Rebellion of 1641, when Phelim O'Neill and the insurgents failed to take the town...
, the garrison of Trim fled to join other
Irish forcesConfederate Ireland refers to the period of Irish self-government between the Rebellion of 1641 and the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland in 1649. During this time, two-thirds of Ireland was governed by the Irish Catholic Confederation, also known as the "Confederation of Kilkenny"...
and the town was occupied by the
armyThe New Model Army of Great Britain was formed in 1645 by the Parliamentarians in the English Civil War, and disbanded in 1660 after the Restoration. It differed from other armies in the same conflict in that it was intended as an army liable for service anywhere in the country, rather than being...
of
Oliver CromwellOliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader best known for his involvement in making England into a republican Commonwealth and for his later role as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland.He was one of the commanders of the New Model Army which defeated the royalists in...
. There were many local disturbances in neighbouring villages in the
Irish Rebellion of 1798The Irish Rebellion of 1798 , also known as the United Irishmen Rebellion , was an uprising in 1798, lasting several months, against British rule in the Kingdom of Ireland...
, most infamously the massacre on the
Hill of TaraThe Battle of Tara Hill was fought on the evening of 26 May 1798 between British forces and Irish rebels involved in the Irish Rebellion of 1798, resulting in a heavy defeat for the rebels and the end of the rebellion in County Meath.-Background:...
, following the dispersal of the Wexford rebellion. Trim was represented by
Arthur WellesleyField Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, KP, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Anglo-Irish soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the nineteenth century....
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 IrelandThe Bank of Ireland is a commercial bank operation in Ireland, which is one of the 'Big Four' in both parts of the island.Historically the premier banking organisation in Ireland, today Bank of Ireland is number two to Allied Irish Banks. The Bank occupies a unique position in Irish banking history...
building, and Castle Street by
Lord DunsanyThe title Baron of Dunsany or, more commonly, Lord Dunsany, is one of the oldest dignities in the Peerage of Ireland, one of just a handful of 13th to 14th century titles still extant, having had 20 holders to date...
, 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 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. Trim was the birth place of the mother of prominent Irish nationalist,
Pádraig Mac PiaraisPatrick Henry Pearse was an Irish teacher, barrister, poet, writer, nationalist and political activist who was one of the leaders of the Easter Rising in 1916...
. During the
Irish War of IndependenceThe Irish War of Independence was a guerrilla war mounted against the British government in Ireland by the Irish Republican Army . It began in January 1919, following the Irish Republic's declaration of independence, and ended with a truce in July 1921...
, local companies of the
Irish Republican ArmyThe Irish Republican Army was an Irish republican revolutionary military organisation. It was descended from the Irish Volunteers, an organisation established on 25 November 1913 that staged the Easter Rising in April 1916...
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 (1920). A large part of the town was burned as a reprisal by the British Crown forces.The local members were drawn from Trim, Longwood, Ballivor and South Meath in general. The Lalor brothers form Castle St. were prominent members 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 ot the Bothers hiding in the recently dug grave of Fr. woods in the Church yard. Local memories remember the townspeople sheltering down by the Boyne for a few nights as the Black 'n' Tans and Auxiliaries burnt out prominent business and the Town Hall. Footage of the burning of J&E Smyth can be viewed on the 'Pathe' website. Many of the townspeople were traumitised for the rest of their lives; many children in Trim were not allowed play with guns; memories of the B'n'Ts dangling grenades outside their windows as the Town Hall burnt and peeled the paint off their doors at Castle St. remained for a long time. The New York Times reported the burning of the barracks and the subsequent looting and burning of the town and follow up operations by the local IRA and can be viewed on their website. Next ( year )September the 20th will be the 90th anniversary of the burning of the barracks.
In later years the Lalors who moved to the house across the road from the old Brothers school had a wonderful collection of memorabilia from those years including, letters from Collins sent from Frongoch ( they kept the originals and forward duplicates to HQ ), Devs slippers and a Tricolour made by Constance Markievic ( with her name embroided ) that was too fly over the GPO during the Rising. Their whereabouts now are unknown but photographs of their existence are on file in Navan library.
While other parts of Meath were particularly quiet during the War Of Independence, The Men from South Meath took the war too the British; Ironically one ambush by one of the Lalor bros took place at the Wellington Monument, where he single handley took on a truck load of British with his rifle and grenade, the monument to the British PM still stands but none to the young brave men of Trim and South Meath.
A new bridge was built on the
BoyneThe River Boyne is a river in Leinster, Ireland, the course of which is about 112 kilometres long. It rises at Trinity Well, Newbury Hall, near Carbury, County Kildare, and flows towards the Northeast through County Meath to reach the Irish Sea outside Drogheda. Salmon and trout can be caught in...
in the 1980s to divert heavy traffic from the town. This was then enhanced by the construction, in a series of 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. The local town council purchased a field beside the new bridge in 2004, as it was expected to be of archaeological significance.
As part of the Civil Service decentralization plan of the Irish government, Trim was chosen as the location of the headquarters for the state body known as the
Office of Public WorksThe Office of Public Works is a State Agency of the Department of Finance in the Republic of Ireland...
. The movement of this state administration function to Trim resulted in Trim being the first location outside of Dublin, to complete a satisfactory decentralization move. Trim has seen some growth in recent years with growth as a tourist and business centre.
Places of interest
- The Town Castle, in front of the rear view of the courthouse, was used in the film "Brave Heart" and is the largest Norman Castle in Europe. It was also built by Hugh De Lacy.
- The Town Hall, known locally as the Market House, is reputed as 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 abbey on a hillside near the town centre, is the tallest building in Trim and can be seen for kilometres around the town.
- St. Patrick's
The Cathedral Church of St Patrick, Trim is a Church of Ireland cathedral in Trim, County Meath.It is the Cathedral of the Diocese of Meath which is now within the Diocese of Meath and Kildare.-History:...
Church of IrelandThe Church of Ireland is a Christian church, an autonomous province of the Episcopal/Anglican Communion, operating across the island of Ireland, and the largest non-Roman Catholic religious body on the island...
Cathedral, This church located on Loman Street on the north side of the town 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.
- Trim Town Walls - Though not much remains of the original walls of Trim, the "sheep's 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 Priory Pub'.
- 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 40mins.
- Newtown Abbey lies on the banks of the Boyne about 15min 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 lots of Information boards with pictures of what certain areas used to look like.
- St.John the Baptist hospice 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 hospice.
- Trim Circuit Courthouse - Built in the 19th century, the courthouse overlooks the main street of the town. Recently extended with an award winning design, the courthouse is located next to the main entrance of the castle.
Trim 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 23 cars. The founder, Norman Pratt, determined to expand the show, approached the Roundtree family who very kindly allowed The Porchfields to be used on the day. It has grown each year since then and there are now in excess of 500 cars and motor cycles on show.
Trim Haymaking Festival
Trim Haymaking Festival is held in the town every mid-June. The Porchfields, an amenity space rich in historic value, are home to a fair, market, and cultural displays. The main event is the traditional making of the first hay of the year by hand and by old-style machinery.
Media
Longwave radio station
Atlantic 252Atlantic 252 was a long wave radio station broadcasting to Ireland and Britain on 252 kHz from its 1988 purpose built transmission site Clarkstown radio transmitter, which provided service to Atlantic 252 from 1989 until 2002. The station's studios were located just 12 km away in Mornington...
's broadcasting station was situated in Trim throughout the 1990s. The station's former buildings are now home to Trim Town Council and Trim Area Committee, two of the administrative bodies within the County of Meath.
The RTÉ Radio 1
longwaveThe longwave radio band is a range of frequencies used for AM broadcasting, which extends from 148.5 to 283.5 kHz. It falls within the low-frequency part of the radio spectrum ....
transmitterA transmitter is an electronic device which, usually with the aid of an antenna, propagates an electromagnetic signal such as radio, television, or other telecommunications.-Transmitter types:...
at Clarkstown, some 11 km southeast of Trim, now broadcasts the AM version of Radio 1 (sometimes known as RTÉ Europe) on 252 kHz (1190.4 m). Prior to this date, RTÉ's main AM transmission centre had been near
AthloneAthlone is a town that lies on the River Shannon near the southern extremity of Lough Ree, Ireland.Athlone is located close to the geographical centre of Ireland, on the border of two counties, Roscommon and Westmeath, which are located in the provinces of Connacht and Leinster respectively...
.
The town has been used as the location for some film productions, including the use of Trim Castle to depict
York CastleYork Castle is a fortification in the city of York, England. The principal remains of the 13th century - 14th century castle are the keep and some of the curtain wall...
in
Mel GibsonMel Colm-Cille Gerard Gibson, AO is an American Australian actor, film director and producer and screenwriter. Born in Peekskill, New York, Gibson moved with his parents to Sydney when he was 12 years old and later studied acting at the National Institute of Dramatic Art.After appearing in the Mad...
's
BraveheartBraveheart is a 1995 Academy-award winning historical action-drama film produced and directed by Mel Gibson, who also starred in the title role. The film was written for screen and then novelized by Randall Wallace...
.
Trim was also the setting for the first full-length Irish
martial artsMartial arts or fighting arts are systems of codified practices and traditions of training for combat. While they may be studied for various reasons, martial arts share a single objective: to physically defeat other persons and to defend oneself or others from physical threat...
movie
Fatal DeviationFatal Deviation is a low-budget cult film produced and set in Trim, County Meath, Ireland. Produced in 1998, it enjoys the distinction of being Ireland's first full-length martial arts film. The film stars real-life martial arts enthusiast James Bennett...
. (A low-budget production from 1998 that tells the story of a young man trying to rebuild his life after returning from reform school only to be harassed by a gang of local drug dealers.)
The 1980 movie
The Big Red One, starring
Lee MarvinLee Marvin was an American film actor. Known for his gravelly voice, white hair and 6' 2" stature, Marvin at first did supporting roles, mostly villains, soldiers and other hardboiled characters, but after winning an Academy Award for Best Actor for his dual roles in Cat Ballou, he landed more...
and
Mark HamillMark Richard Hamill is an American actor, voice artist, producer, director and writer, Hamill is a best known for his role of Luke Skywalker in the original Star Wars trilogy and as the iconic voice of The Joker in the DC Animated Universe.-Early life and education:Hamill was born and raised in...
, was also partially shot in Trim and in particular Trim Castle.
Sport
The town is home to Meath
Gaelic Athletic AssociationThe Gaelic Athletic Association is an amateur Irish and international cultural and sporting organisation focused primarily on promoting Gaelic games, which include the traditional Irish sports of hurling, camogie, Gaelic football, handball and rounders. The GAA also promotes Irish music and...
footballers such as
Jack QuinnJack Quinn is a retired inter-county Irish Gaelic footballer for County Meath in Ireland. He enjoyed much success play inter-county football in the sixties on the Meath team. For Meath he usually played Full Back. Sometimes he played at midfield, and often when Meath were chasing games he was moved...
and
Darren FayDarren Fay is a former successful Meath Gaelic Footballer. He is regarded the latest in a long line of Great Meath Full Backs, following the likes of Mick Lyons, Jack Quinn, Paddy O'Brien & Tommy "The Boiler" McGuinness and Brendan Murphy. He plays club football for Trim...
and in recent times Brendan Murphy has emerged as the county team's star goalkeeper.
Trim GAATrim GAA is a Gaelic Athletic Association club based in Trim, in County Meath, Ireland. The club fields both Gaelic football and hurling teams. It competes in Meath GAA competitions.-Honours:...
Club have won the Meath Senior Football Championship on one occasion, in 1962. Trim is one of the two most successful teams (the other being Kilmessan) in the Meath Senior Hurling Championship, with both clubs between them winning almost half the championships played.
Transport
Trim railway station was opened on 26 April 1864, closed for goods and passenger traffic in 1947 and finally closed altogether on 1 September 1954.
Trim Aerodrome
Trim Flying Club, a Registered Training Facility (RTF), is based at the aerodrome and operate two aircraft. As well as Trim Flying Clubs' aircraft, the airfield is also home to other
general aviationGeneral aviation is one of two categories of civil aviation. It refers to all flights other than military and scheduled airline flights, both private and commercial. General aviation flights range from gliders and powered parachutes to large, non-scheduled cargo jet flights...
aircraft including
microlightDuring the late 1970s and early 1980s, many people sought to be able to fly affordably. As a result, many aviation authorities set up definitions of lightweight, slow-flying aeroplanes that could be subject to minimum regulation...
s.
Hot Air Ballooning
Trim is unquestionably the Hot Air Ballooning capital of Ireland, with both commercial and private hot air balloon flights taking place from the town. Trim is also the home town to Pauline Baker, the holder of nine world records in hot air ballooning, the only Irish citizen to have ever held world records in any aspect of manned aviation. As well as being Pauline's hobby, Pauline is also Operations Director to Irish Balloon Flights, a commercial ballooning company based in Trim. The Irish Hot Air Ballooning Championships, the longest running ballooning championships in the world, was hosted in Trim in 2001 and 2002 and was quite probably the most successful event ever, with perfect weather conditions allowing 40 balloons to fly twice a day over the historic town.
People
- Tracy Coogan
Tracy Elizabeth Coogan is an Irish actress most widely noted for her leading role in the 2004 independent film Zombie Honeymoon.-Career:Coogan was born and raised in Trim, County Meath, Ireland, one of five children of Michael and Ann Coogan. She first acted in many theatrical productions at school...
, actress
- Darren Fay
Darren Fay is a former successful Meath Gaelic Footballer. He is regarded the latest in a long line of Great Meath Full Backs, following the likes of Mick Lyons, Jack Quinn, Paddy O'Brien & Tommy "The Boiler" McGuinness and Brendan Murphy. He plays club football for Trim...
, footballer
- Lord Dunsany, writer
- Sir William Rowan Hamilton, physicist
- Jonathan Swift
Jonathan Swift was an Anglo-Irish satirist, essayist, political pamphleteer , poet and cleric who became Dean of St...
, poet
- Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, KP, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Anglo-Irish soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the nineteenth century....
, whose family owned much of the town
- Father Andrew Farrell Parish Priest.
- Noel Dempsey
Noel Dempsey is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician. He is the current Minister for Transport and a Teachta Dála for the Meath West constituency...
, politician
- Tim Clancy (footballer)
Tim Clancy is an Irish professional football player who currently plays for Kilmarnock in the Scottish Premier League. A full back, he counts among his former clubs Millwall, Walton & Hersham, Weymouth and Fisher Ath....
, professional footballer
- Loman of Trim
Loman of Trim was the nephew of Saint Patrick, and was the first bishop appointed by Patrick in Ireland. Loman converted both Fortchern , the Prince of Trim , and his father Foidilmid, and was given Trim for an episcopal see in 433...
, nephew of Saint PatrickSaint Patrick Irish: Naomh Pádraig) was a Romano-Briton and Christian missionary, who is the most generally recognised patron saint of Ireland ....
- Hugh de Lacy, Lord of Meath
Hugh de Lacy, Lord of Meath was granted the lands of the Kingdom of Meath by Henry II in 1172 under the Norman Invasion of Ireland.-Career:In 1172 he met Tighearnán Ó Ruairc, King of Bréifne on the Hill of Ward...
, built Trim CastleTrim Castle , Trim, County Meath, Ireland, on the shores of the Boyne has an area of 30,000 m². It is the remains of the largest Norman castle in Europe, and Ireland's largest castle...
with his son Walter de LacyWalter de Lacy was Lord of Meath in Ireland and Ludlow in Shropshire in the Welsh Marches.- Lineage :With his father Hugh de Lacy, Lord of Meath he built Trim Castle , Trim, County Meath....
- Egidia de Lacy
Egidia de Lacy, Lady of Connacht , was a Hiberno-Norman noblewoman, the wife of Richard Mor de Burgh, and the mother of his seven children, including Walter de Burgh, 1st Earl of Ulster. She was also known as Gille de Lacy.- Family :...
, Lady of Connacht, born at Trim CastleTrim Castle , Trim, County Meath, Ireland, on the shores of the Boyne has an area of 30,000 m². It is the remains of the largest Norman castle in Europe, and Ireland's largest castle...
- Paddy Keenan
Paddy Keenan is an Irish player of the uilleann pipes.- The early years :Paddy Keenan was born in Trim, County Meath in 1950. His father and grandfather were both uilleann pipers, and his father, Johnny Keenan, spent many nights playing along with piper Johnny Doran. He began playing at the age of...
, musician
UFO Sightings
On 3 August 2008, at 10.35pm, a unidentified flying object (UFO) was spotted by a senior Garda official, a local politician and a pilot claimed to have seen an UFO. The Irish Aviation Authority and the
Irish Defence ForcesThe Irish Defence Forces encompass the army, navy, air corps and reserve forces of Ireland. Their official title in Irish is Óglaigh na hÉireann; another more literal translation, attested in Irish-language literature, is Fórsaí Cosanta na hÉireann...
both stated that they were not aware of any activity over Trim.
On Thursday the 30 July 2009 a "armada" of UFO's were spotted once again. This time there were several witnesses and video footage was obtained from a camera phone. As before a local politician claimed to have seen the UFO's and said that he tried to chase to find out what they were. Again The Irish Aviation Authority and The
Irish Defence ForcesThe Irish Defence Forces encompass the army, navy, air corps and reserve forces of Ireland. Their official title in Irish is Óglaigh na hÉireann; another more literal translation, attested in Irish-language literature, is Fórsaí Cosanta na hÉireann...
both claim that they had no aircraft in the sky at the time of the sightings.
This event was reported in the
Meath ChronicleThe Meath Chronicle is a local newspaper serving County Meath, Ireland and based in the town of Navan. Publication is weekly and the circulation as of 2008 is 14,651....
on 05 August 2009. Comments from readers seem to indicate that the UFO's were in fact
Chinese LanternA Chinese lantern can refer to the following:*A collapsible paper lantern in bright colours used for decorative purposes, commonly painted with Chinese art and calligraphy motifs.*The shrub Abutilon x hybridum*The herbaceous plant Physalis alkekengi...
s released at a nearby wedding party.
Twinning
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! style="background: #FFFFEF; color: #000000" ! | France>
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
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Étrépagny Étrépagny is a commune in the Eure department in the Haute-Normandie region in northern France.-Twin towns:Since 1989, the town has been twinned with the Irish town of Trim which has a significant Norman heritage....
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Haute-Normandie Upper Normandy is one of the 26 regions of France. It was created in 1956 from two départements: Seine-Maritime and Eure, when Normandy was divided into Lower Normandy and Upper Normandy. This division continues to provoke controversy, and some continue to call for regrouping of the two...
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See also
- List of towns and villages in Ireland
- Market Houses in Ireland
Market Houses are a notable feature of many Irish towns with varying styles of architecture, size and ornamentation making for a most interesting feature of the streetscape. Originally there were three, four or even five bays on the ground floor which were an open arcade. An upper floor was...
- other monuments to Wellington
- Trim Castle
Trim Castle , Trim, County Meath, Ireland, on the shores of the Boyne has an area of 30,000 m². It is the remains of the largest Norman castle in Europe, and Ireland's largest castle...
External links