Trim Castle Window Royalty-Free Stock Image

Trim Castle is the largest Cambro-Norman castle in Ireland. The design of the central three-story keep 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. The castle interior was partially the subject of an archaeological dig by David Sweetman of OPW in the 1970s and more extensively by Alan Hayden in the 1990s. The surviving 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.