Trim

Market town in County Meath, Republic of Ireland, on the River Boyne; population (2002) 1,450. Trim has agricultural and light industries. It is one of the oldest ecclesiastical centres in Ireland, and Trim Castle is the largest Anglo-Norman fortress in the country.

St Loman was the first bishop here, in a see said to have been established by St Patrick in the 5th century. It was amalgamated in 1152 to form the diocese of Meath.

A number of parliaments were held in Trim in the 15th century.

The ruins of Trim Castle are well preserved, and it has a square keep 22 m/75 ft high. It was originally constructed by Hugh I de Lacey, who was granted the lands of Trim during the Anglo-Norman occupation, but it was rebuilt around 1200. There are two other castles in Trim, Nangle's Castle and Talbot's Castle, built in 1415. The Yellow Steeple is a 14th-century bell tower 38 m/125 ft high, and the ruins of St Mary's abbey also remain in the town.

At Newtown Trim 2 km/1 mi away are the ruins of the abbey of the Canons Regular of St Victor, founded by Bishop Simon de Rochfort in 1206.

The satirist Jonathan Swift was rector of Laracor (3 km/2 mi to the south) 1700–13, and the friend he called Stella (Esther Johnson) lived nearby.