Editing Trim Castle

{{short description|Largest Norman castle in Ireland (ruin), Trim, County Meath}}
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{{Infobox military installation
| name          = Trim Castle
| location      = [[Trim, County Meath|Trim]], [[County Meath]], Ireland
| image         = Trim Castle 6.jpg
| image_size    = 250px
| caption       = The keep and curtain walls of Trim Castle
| map_type      = Ireland
| coordinates   = {{coord|53.555|-6.7897|type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
| type          = Medieval castle
| built         = from the 12th century
| builder       = Hugh de Lacy (keep)
| used          = Open to public
| condition     = Ruin
| ownership     = Currently the [[Government of Ireland|Irish Government]] through the [[Office of Public Works]]
| embedded      = {{Infobox designation list
| embed =yes
| designation1 = National Monument of Ireland
| designation1_offname = Trim Castle
| designation1_number  = 514
}}
}}

'''Trim Castle''' ({{langx|ga|Caisleán Bhaile Átha Troim}}) is a [[castle]] on the south bank of the [[River Boyne]] in [[Trim, County Meath]], Ireland, with an area of 30,000&nbsp;m<sup>2</sup>.<ref>Trim Castle, Meath Tourism-Ireland. http://www.meath.ie/Tourism/Heritage/HeritageSites/TrimCastle/</ref><ref>Heritage Ireland: Trim Castle. {{cite web |url=http://www.heritageireland.ie/en/midlandseastcoast/TrimCastle/ |title=Heritage Ireland: Trim Castle |access-date=2013-05-23 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130523145512/http://www.heritageireland.ie/en/midlandseastcoast/TrimCastle/ |archive-date=23 May 2013 }}</ref> Over a period of 30 years, it was built by [[Hugh de Lacy, Lord of Meath|Hugh de Lacy]] and his son [[Walter de Lacy, Lord of Meath|Walter]] as the ''[[caput]]'' of the [[Lordship of Meath]]. The [[Government of Ireland|Irish Government]] currently own and are in charge of the care of the castle, through the state agency The [[Office of Public Works]] (OPW).

The castle is on the [[List of National Monuments in County Meath]].<ref>[http://www.meathheritage.com/index.php/archives/item/me01634-manorland-1st-division-castle-anglo-norman-masonry-castle ME01634 MANORLAND (1ST DIVISION) TRIM CASTLE]</ref>

==History==
===De Lacy===
The land area of Meath was owned by the church but was granted to [[Hugh de Lacy, Lord of Meath|Hugh de Lacy]] in 1172 by [[Henry II of England]] as one of the new administrative areas.<ref>'Trim Castle', in R. Butler, ''Some Notices of the Castle and of the Ecclesiastical Buildings of Trim, led from various authorities'' (Hodges, Smith & Co., Dublin 1861), pp. 9-134, at [https://archive.org/stream/somenoticesofcas00butl#page/12 pp. 13-14] and [https://archive.org/stream/somenoticesofcas00butl#page/238 pp. 238-39] (Internet Archive).</ref> De Lacy built a huge ringwork castle defended by a stout double palisade and external ditch on top of the hill. There may also have been further defences around the cliffs fringing the high ground. Part of a stone footed timber gatehouse lies beneath the present stone gate at the west side of the castle.

[[File:A Moment of Past.jpg|left|thumb|249x249px|Trim Castle at night.]]
The site was chosen because it is on raised ground, overlooking a fording point on the [[River Boyne]]. The area was an important early medieval ecclesiastical and royal site that was navigable in [[Middle Ages|medieval times]] by boat up the River Boyne, about 25 miles from the [[Irish Sea]]. Trim Castle is referred to in the [[Normans|Norman]] poem ''[[The Song of Dermot and the Earl]]''.

De Lacy left Ireland entrusting the castle to [[Hugh Tyrrel]], baron of [[Castleknock]], one of his chief lieutenants. The ringwork was attacked and burnt by forces of the [[Gaels|Gaelic]] [[High King of Ireland]], [[Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair]]; Tyrrel, having appealed in vain for help, was forced to flee. Ua Conchobair soon withdrew and De Lacy, or [[Raymond FitzGerald]], immediately repaired or rebuilt the castle in 1173. After Hugh's death in 1186 his son [[Walter de Lacy, Lord of Meath|Walter de Lacy]] succeeded as Lord of Meath.<ref>Butler, ''Some Notices'', pp. 14-17.</ref> He continued rebuilding and the castle was completed in the 1220s, most likely in 1224. The year when construction was completed was considered to be 1220 by historians in the 19th century but that is now in dispute.<ref>[http://www.meathheritage.com/index.php/archives/item/me01634-manorland-1st-division-castle-anglo-norman-masonry-castle ME01634 MANORLAND (1ST DIVISION) TRIM CASTLE]</ref>

===Geneville and Mortimer===
The next phase of the castle's development took place at the end of the 13th century and the beginning of the 14th century; a new great hall (with undercroft and attached [[Solar (room)|solar]] in a radically altered curtain tower), a new forebuilding, and stables were added to the keep.

On Walter de Lacy's death in 1241 his granddaughter [[Maud de Lacy, Baroness Geneville|Mathilda]] ('Maud') inherited the castle. Her second husband was [[Geoffrey de Geneville]] (brother of the crusade historian [[Jean de Joinville]]),<ref>Butler, ''Some Notices'', [https://archive.org/stream/somenoticesofcas00butl#page/26 p. 27] (Internet Archive).</ref> Lord of [[Vaucouleurs]] in [[Champagne (historical province)|Champagne]], France, and of many lordships in England and Ireland which were to devolve upon his heirs. His son Piers de Geneville (who married [[Joan of Lusignan|Joan de Lusignan]]) died in 1292 leaving a daughter [[Joan de Geneville, 2nd Baroness Geneville|Joan]], who in 1301 married [[Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March|Roger Mortimer (1st Earl of March)]].<ref>Butler, ''Some Notices'', pp. 29-30.</ref> Mathilda having died in 1304, in 1308 Geoffrey conveyed his Irish lordships to Roger Mortimer, and entered the [[The Black Friary|priory]] at St. Mary's in Trim. Joan Mortimer inherited the title Baroness Geneville [[suo jure]] when Geoffrey died in 1314.<ref>Butler, ''Some Notices'', pp. 30-33.</ref>

The castle thereby passed to the Mortimer family who held it until 1425, when the male line died out with [[Edmund Mortimer, 5th Earl of March]].<ref name="Guide">{{cite book|last=Duchas the Heritage Service (ed)|title=Trim Castle Co. Meath|year=2002|pages=20–26|isbn=0-7557-1282-X}}</ref> After this the estate passed to [[Richard of York]], son of Edmund's sister [[Anne Mortimer]] by [[Richard of Conisburgh, 3rd Earl of Cambridge]].<ref>Butler, ''Some Notices'', [https://archive.org/stream/somenoticesofcas00butl#page/66 pp. 67-72] (Internet Archive).</ref> Richard of York was killed at the [[Battle of Wakefield]] in 1460, and in 1461 his son, King [[Edward IV of England|Edward IV]], appointed Germyn Lynch, goldsmith of London, to be his representative at Trim as warden and master worker of the new issues of moneys and coins within the Castles of Dublin and Trim, and the town of Galway.<ref>Butler, ''Some Notices'', [https://archive.org/stream/somenoticesofcas00butl#page/80 pp. 80-82] (Internet Archive).</ref>

===Later ownership===
[[File: Trim_Castle_in_Ireland.jpg |thumb|The inside of one of the towers of Trim Castle.]]
During the 15th century the [[Parliament of Ireland|Irish Parliament]] met in Trim Castle seven times and a mint operated in the castle. It was at that time the centre of administration for Meath and marked the outer northern boundary of [[The Pale]]. {{anchor|Irish Confederate Wars}}In the 16th century it fell into decline and was allowed to deteriorate, but it was refortified during the [[Irish Confederate Wars]] in the 1640s. In 1649 after the [[Siege of Drogheda|sacking of Drogheda]], the garrison of Trim fled to join other [[Confederate Ireland|Irish forces]] and the place was occupied by the [[New Model Army|army]] of [[Oliver Cromwell]].

After the wars of the 1680s, the castle was granted to the Wellesley family who held it until [[Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington|Arthur Wellesley (the Duke of Wellington)]], sold it to the Leslies. In following years it passed via the Encumbered Estates Court into the hands of the [[Baron Dunsany|Dunsany]] Plunketts. They left the lands open and from time to time allowed various uses, with part of the Castle Field rented for some years by the Town Council as a municipal dump, and a small meeting hall for the Royal British Legion erected. The Dunsany held the Castle and surrounds until 1993, when after years of discussion, Lord Dunsany sold the land and buildings to the State, retaining only river access and fishing rights.

===Restoration===
The [[Office of Public Works]] began a major programme of exploratory works and conservation, costing in the region of 4.5 million euro, including partial restoration of the moat and the installation of a protective roof on the keep. The castle was re-opened to the public in 2000.

==Structure==
{{multiple image
| align = right
| image1 = Trim Castle and undercroft.jpg
| width1 = 230
| alt1 = 
| caption1 = 
| image2 = Trim keep plan.png
| width2 = 175
| alt2 = 
| caption2 = 
| footer = The [[keep]] viewed from the [[undercroft]] of the [[Great hall]] near the River Gate, and a plan
}}
With an area of 30,000&nbsp;m<sup>2</sup>, Trim Castle is the largest [[Cambro-Norman]] [[castle]] in Ireland. The design of the central three-storey [[keep]] (also known as a donjon or great tower) is unique for a Norman keep being of [[cruciform]] shape, with twenty corners. It was built on the site of the previous large ring work fortification in at least three stages, initially by Hugh de Lacy (c. 1174) and then in 1196 and 1201–5 by [[Walter de Lacy, Lord of Meath|Walter de Lacy]].
The castle interior was partially the subject of archaeological digs, by David Sweetman of the [[Office of Public Works|OPW]] in the 1970s, and more extensively by Alan Hayden in the 1990s.

The surviving [[Curtain wall (fortification)|curtain walls]] are predominantly of three phases. The west and north sides of the enceinte are defended by rectangular towers (including the Trim Gate) dating to the 1170s; the Dublin gate was erected in the 1190s or early part of the 13th century; and the remaining wall to the south with its round towers dates to the first two decades of the 13th century.
The castle has two main gates. The one in the west side dates to the 1170s and sits on top of a demolished wooden gateway. The upper stories of the stone tower were altered to a semi-octagonal shape, c. 1200. The Dublin Gate in the south wall is a single round towered gate with an external [[barbican]] tower. It dates from the 1190s or early 13th century and was the first example of its type to be constructed in Ireland.{{citation needed|date=November 2017}}

[[File:Trim Castle November 2013.jpg|thumb|left|The Dublin Gate [[barbican]] tower at the southern [[Curtain wall (fortification)|curtain wall]] (left) and the main tower (right)]]
Apart from the keep, the main extant structures consist of the following: an early 14th-century three-towered fore work defending the keep entrance and including stables within it (accessed by a stone causeway crossing the partly filled-in ditch of the earlier ringwork); a huge late 13th-century three-aisled great hall (with an under croft beneath its east end opening via a water gate to the river); a stout defensive tower (turned into a solar in the late 13th century at the northern angle of the castle); a smaller aisled hall (added to the east end of the great hall in the 14th or 15th century); a building (possibly the mint) added to the east end of the latter hall; two 15th- or 16th-century stone buildings added inside the town gatehouse, 17th-century buildings (added to the end of the hall range and to the north side of the keep) and a series of lime kilns (one dating from the late 12th century, the remainder from the 18th and 19th centuries).

==Access==
The [[Office of Public Works]] operate a Guide Service at Trim Castle and the grounds are open to the public for self-guiding, on payment of an entry fee. Access to the Castle keep is by guided tour only, an entry fee also applies. In winter, the complex is open only on weekends and bank holidays.

==Popular culture==
[[File:Trim and Talbot Castles.jpg|thumb|Trim and Talbot Castles. Also visible are the [[Royal Mint]], [[Solar (room)|solar]] and [[Trim Cathedral]]]]

The 1980 movie ''[[The Big Red One]]'', starring [[Lee Marvin]] and [[Mark Hamill]], was also partially shot in Trim and in particular at Trim Castle.

The castle is noted for the part it played in the filming of [[Mel Gibson]]'s film ''[[Braveheart]]''. The castle was presented as the walled city of York; scenes that took place in London were also filmed here.<ref>[https://www.ireland.com/en-ca/what-is-available/attractions-built-heritage/destinations/republic-of-ireland/meath/articles/trim-castle/ Trim Castle Cinematic View]</ref>

==Controversies==
In 2003 there was a controversy surrounding the decision by the [[Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage|Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government]] [[Martin Cullen]] not to oppose the construction of a five-storey hotel across the road from the castle. The development had been condemned by a local councillor, a senior inspector in An Bord Pleanála (acting in a private capacity, and later choosing to withdraw his appeal lest it be considered a conflict of interest) and heritage bodies, many of whom had been critical of the government's treatment of other heritage sites such as [[Carrickmines Castle]] (the ruins of which were excavated partly to allow the completion of a roadway).<ref>[https://www.irishtimes.com/news/withdrawal-of-appeal-against-hotel-in-trim-to-be-challenged-1.390025 Withdrawal of appeal against hotel in Trim to be challenged 7 November 2000]</ref> The hotel was opened in August 2006.

The recent addition of buildings outside the west side of the town has further intruded on the castle remains.

==See also==
*[[Castles in Great Britain and Ireland]]
*[[List of castles in Ireland]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Sources==
* Reeves-Smith, Terrence. 1995. ''Irish Castles''. Belfast: The Appletree Press Ltd.
* De Breffny, Brian. 1977. ''Castles of Ireland''. London: Thames and Hudson.
* Salter, Mike. 1993. ''Castles and Strong Houses of Ireland''. Worc.: Folly Publications.
* Sweetman, David. 1999. ''The Medieval Castles of Ireland''. Cork: The Collins Press.
* McNeill, Tom.  1997. ''Castles in Ireland''. London: Routledge.

== Further reading ==
*{{citation |last=Sweetman |first=P. D. |title=The development of Trim Castle in the light of recent research |journal=Château Gaillard: Études de castellologie médiévale |volume=XVIII |year=1998 |pages=223–230 |isbn=9782902685059 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lQ6AhnGOj2MC}}
*Hayden, A.R (2011) Trim Castle, Co Meath: Excavations 1995–8. Archaeological Monograph Series: 6. Wordwell (Bray) & Stationery Office (Dublin).

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
* [http://www.meath.ie/Tourism/Heritage/HeritageSites/TrimCastle/ Meath Tourism on Trim Castle] website by Meath County Council
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130523145512/http://www.heritageireland.ie/en/midlandseastcoast/TrimCastle/ Heritage of Ireland on Trim Castle]
* [http://www.fairytalechannel.org/2008_01_05_archive.html Translation of Grimm's Saga No. 10 The Ghost of Boyne Castle]

{{external media
| width = 230px
| headerimage = [[File:Thumbnail_GIF_of_3D_Model_of_Trim_Castle-320x160.gif]]
| model1      = [https://skfb.ly/S66W 3D model of Trim Castle] (linked at Sketchfab).}}
{{Historic Irish houses}}

[[Category:Buildings and structures completed in 1224]]
[[Category:Castles in County Meath]]
[[Category:Norman castles]]
[[Category:Norman architecture in Ireland]]
[[Category:Ruins in the Republic of Ireland]]
[[Category:Archaeological sites in County Meath]]
[[Category:National monuments in County Meath]]
[[Category:Historic house museums in the Republic of Ireland]]
[[Category:Museums in County Meath]]
[[Category:Trim, County Meath]]
[[Category:De Lacy family|Castle, Trim]]
[[Category:Lime kilns in Ireland]]