Things to do in County Meath
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Country Cycles
If you fancy stretching your legs to see the sights, Country Cycles has a variety of bikes for hire.
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Newtown Abbey
Ruins at Newtown Cemetery include the 18th-century Newtown Abbey (Abbey of the Canons Regular of St Victor of Paris).
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Watson's Elementary Café
You don't have to be a Sherlock to find this quality café with solid renditions of standards ranging from omelettes to shepherd's pie.
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Egos Lunch Club
Boast about your accomplishments at this bright and open modern café. It has a full coffee bar and a long menu of hot specials, sandwiches and salads.
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Meath Heritage Centre
The Meath Heritage Centre has an extensive genealogical database for people trying to trace Meath ancestors. Write in advance for the best results.
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St Patrick's Church
Almost everything commercial in Trim is on or near Market St. That huge steeple you see just south belongs to St Patrick's Church, parts of which date to the 15th century.
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Franzini O'Brien's
Buzzing local favourite, with a casual atmosphere and an eclectic menu spanning nachos to teriyaki chicken with noodles, and duck wontons.
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Silver Swan Cafe
For a simple snack or cake and a coffee, head to this bright and cosy cafe in the centre of town. You’ll also get a range of soups and sandwiches as well as more hearty but predictable mains.
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Wau Asian
Extensive Chinese, Malaysian, Indonesian and Thai dishes. Afterwards, pop into the Sally Rodgers pub below.
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Marcy Regan's
This small, traditional pub beside St Peter's Bridge claims to be Ireland's second oldest. It's a no- frills kind of place just steeped in old-world atmosphere. There's often a trad music session on Friday nights.
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Dowth
The circular mound at Dowth is similar in size to Newgrange – about 63m in diameter – but is slightly taller at 14m high. It has suffered badly at the hands of everyone from road builders and treasure hunters to amateur archaeologists, who scooped out the centre of the tumulus in the 19th century. For a time, Dowth even had a tearoom ignobly perched on its summit. Relatively untouched by modern archaeologists, Dowth shows what Newgrange and Knowth looked like for most of their history. Because it's unsafe, Dowth is closed to visitors, though the mound can be viewed from the road between Newgrange and Drogheda. Excavations began in 1998 and will continue for years to…
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Slane Castle
Still the private residence of Henry Conyngham, Earl of Mountcharles, Slane Castle is best known in Ireland as the setting for massive outdoor rock concerts, such as Kings of Leon in 2011. U2's 1984 album The Unforgettable Fire was recorded here (though the castle featured on the album cover is in Moydrum in County Westmeath) and the band have returned to play several occasions in the castle grounds.
Built in 1785 in the Gothic-revival style by James Wyatt, the building was later altered by Francis Johnson for George IV's visits to Lady Conyngham. She was allegedly his mistress, and it's said the road between Dublin and Slane was built especially straight and smooth to…
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Trim Heritage Centre
Sharing space in the town hall with the tourist office is the informative Trim Heritage Centre, where you can watch a 20-minute video outlining the medieval history of Trim. There’s a coffee shop here, too.
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Yellow Steeple
Just northwest of the St Mary's Abbey building is the 40m Yellow Steeple, once the bell tower of the abbey, dating from 1368 but damaged by Cromwell's soldiers in 1649. It takes its name from the colour of the stonework at dusk.
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La Scala
Contemporary La Scala serves timeless, classic Italian food: porcini mushroom and truffle risotto, frittura mista with sea bass, tiger prawns and squid, and chicken breast with ham and mozzarella, as well as a wide range of pastas.
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Sally Rogers
Pop in here (below Wau Asian) for a drink overlooking the river.
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Cathedral of Sts Peter and Paul
Ruins at Newtown Cemetery include Newtown's Cathedral of Sts Peter and Paul. The cathedral was founded in 1206 and burned down two centuries later. Parts of the cathedral wall were flattened by a storm in 1839, which also damaged sections of the Trim Castle wall.
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Vanilla Pod
Bright and modern but rather soulless, this restaurant in the Headfort Arms Hotel is independently run and features an ambitious bistro-style menu. The food is well-prepared and sourced locally, but for the best deal aim for the set three-course dinner at €21.95.
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Sheep Gate
Part of the 14th-century town wall stands in the field to the east of the abbey, including the Sheep Gate, the lone survivor of the town's original five gates. It used to be closed daily between 21:00 and 04:00, and a toll was charged for sheep entering to be sold at market.
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St Columba
The Protestant church of St Columba, west of the town centre, has a 30m-high 10th-century round tower on the southern side. It’s without its conical roof, but it’s known to date back at least as far as 1076, when the high king of Tara was murdered in its confined apartments.
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Cairn T
Cairn T is the biggest site at Carnbane East at about 35m in diameter, with numerous carved stones. One of its outlying kerbstones is called the Hag’s Chair, and is covered in gouged holes, circles and other markings. You need the gate key to enter the passageway and a torch to see anything in detail.
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Brogan’s Beacon
This popular restaurant serves country-style comfort food for adoring locals. The menu is fairly predictable with hearty chicken, salmon and pasta dishes, the odd risotto and the usual array of steaks and burgers. It won’t win any awards, but may just satisfy a niggling craving. There’s also a bar menu for lighter snacks.
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Crutched Friary
Southeast of Newtown Abbey and the Cathdral of Sts Peter and Paul ruins, and just over the river, is the Crutched Friary. There are ruins of a keep, and traces of a watchtower and other buildings from a hospital set up after the Crusades by the Knights of St John of Jerusalem, who wore a red crutch (cross), on their cassocks.
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Poet’s Rest
Fairtrade and organic foods top the bill at the Poet’s Rest, a deceptively simple little place serving up stylish, modern cuisine in relaxed surroundings. Although succulent meat and fish dishes feature strongly on the menu, there’s plenty of choice for vegetarians, and a mouth-watering array of desserts from the adjoining deli-patisserie – a great spot to pick up the makings for a gourmet picnic.
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Trim Castle
This remarkably preserved edifice was Ireland's largest Anglo-Norman fortification and is proof of Trim's medieval importance. Hugh de Lacy founded Trim Castle in 1173, but Rory O'Connor, said to have been the last high king of Ireland, destroyed this motte and bailey within a year. The building you see today was begun around 1200 and has hardly been modified since.
Throughout Anglo-Norman times the castle occupied a strategic position on the western edge of the Pale, the area where the Anglo-Normans ruled supreme; beyond Trim was the volatile country where Irish chieftains and lords fought with their Norman rivals and vied for position, power and terrain. By the 16th…
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