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. 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. 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). built by Hugh de Lacy 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. 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==