St Patrick's Cathedral (Church of Ireland)
About
The Church of Ireland cathedral on Loman Street is the quiet one, and most people who come to Trim for the castle never get to it. The squat battlemented tower on the north-west corner is medieval, put up in the fourteenth or fifteenth century and now doing duty as the west porch; the rest was rebuilt in 1803, when Bishop Thomas O'Beirne had the church brought down to its present reduced dimensions, and the east window was enlarged again in 1906. Two things inside are worth the walk. The Good Shepherd panel of 1869 is by Sir Edward Burne-Jones and is described by the parish as the only example of his early work in Ireland, and the organ is one of only three in the country built by the Yorkshire maker James Jepson Binns. The building was not formally raised to cathedral status until St Patrick's Day 1955, though it had long been where bishops of Meath were enthroned. Sunday worship is at 11.30am; at other times access depends on who is about, so contact the parish rather than assuming an open door.
Photos
Highlights
- ✓The medieval battlemented tower, now the west porch
- ✓The Good Shepherd panel by Sir Edward Burne-Jones, 1869
- ✓A James Jepson Binns organ, one of three in Ireland
- ✓A churchyard that is genuinely quiet in a town that is not always
Tips
- →Do not confuse it with St Patrick's Catholic church, the big spired one on the other side of town. Locals distinguish them without naming them, which is confusing on arrival.
- →Sunday service is at 11.30am. Outside that, contact the parish before travelling rather than turning up hoping.
- →It is five minutes on foot from the castle gate, uphill on Loman Street.
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.
Newtown Trim and the Priory of St John the Baptist
The thirteenth-century Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul, the Priory of St John the Baptist and one of Ireland's oldest bridges, a mile downriver from the castle.