Newtown Trim and the Priory of St John the Baptist
About
A mile or so downriver from the castle, on both banks of the Boyne, sits the group of ruins that Trim people simply call Newtown. The largest is the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul, begun in the early thirteenth century by the Bishop of Meath and once the biggest church of its kind in the country; what stands now is the nave-and-chancel skeleton with the Augustinian priory buildings beside it. Across the water is the Priory of St John the Baptist, a Crutched Friars hospital house with a squat tower, and between them runs the medieval bridge, one of the oldest surviving in Ireland. There is no ticket office, no barrier and usually nobody else there, which is the whole point of walking out. The ground is grass and uneven, and the ruins are consolidated rather than restored.
Photos
Highlights
- ✓The nave and chancel of the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul
- ✓The Priory of St John the Baptist on the far bank
- ✓The medieval bridge over the Boyne
- ✓Marcie Regan's pub at the end of the bridge
Tips
- →Walk out along the river rather than driving. The road route misses the point of the site entirely.
- →The ground is rough grass and slopes down to the water, so proper shoes rather than town shoes.
- →Nothing here is staffed or ticketed, so bring your own reading; the interpretive panels on the river walk cover most of it.
Best Season
More Attraction Activities
Trim Castle
The largest Anglo-Norman castle in Ireland, with free open grounds in the middle of town and a cruciform keep you can only see on an OPW guided tour.
The Yellow Steeple and St Mary's Abbey
The jagged bell tower of St Mary's Augustinian Abbey, the tallest structure in Trim, standing on the ridge across the river from the castle. Viewed from outside only.
St Patrick's Cathedral (Church of Ireland)
The Church of Ireland cathedral on Loman Street, with a medieval west tower, a Binns organ and a Burne-Jones window the parish calls his only early work in Ireland.