About Trim
Trim Tidy Towns was formed in the lmid 1960’s. Currently Chaired by Brian Heffernan Trim were successful in winning the 2022 Tidiest Large Town and was the overall National Winner, marking Trim’s 3rd success in the national competition and our first win in almost 40 years.
As part of it’s work the Tidy Towns has developed both a 5-Year Plan and a Local Biodiversity Action Plan 2022 – 2025 developed in partnership with Flynn Furney Environmental Consultants.
‘Trim is located in County Meath, on the banks of the river Boyne about 45km north-west of Dublin and 14.5 km south-west of Navan. The River Boyne runs through the town.
The name comes from the Irish ‘Baile Atha Troim’, which translates as ‘the town of the ford of the alder trees’ and its origin dates back to the 5th century A.D. The Town boasts a rich history dating back to medieval times. One of Ireland’s Heritage Towns, Trim once had some of the oldest and largest religious settlements in the Country having been continuously occupied since 500 AD. As an important medieval town, Trim was a market town as well as the centre of the lordship of Meath.
Trim Castle was built in the 12th century by which time the town was also an important ecclesiastical centre. Since then, as evidenced around the Town, there have been numerous periods of significant development – particularly during the 18th and 19th centuries from which a large number of buildings in the Town date.
Today, Trim remains an important services centre – accommodating civic functions such as the Courts Service as well as St. Joseph’s Hospital and the headquarters of the Office of Public Works, as well as a range of shops, businesses and schools. Modern day Trim therefore comprises an interesting mixture of building styles – ranging from medieval street patterns and Georgian buildings to more contemporary housing estates which predominate on the edge of the Town Centre.
The Town is a designated Heritage Town and much of the town centre is identified as an Architectural Conservation Area. Given the integrity of its historical architecture and form, Trim – and particularly Trim Castle, featured in the 1994 / 1995 filming of the movie Braveheart. Trim Castle has been awarded the Europa Nostra Award.
Trim has a proud history in the national Tidy Towns Competition, winning the National Title in in 1972, 1974, 1984 & again in 2022. Trim also represented Ireland in the Pan-European Entente Florale Competition in 2015, winning a gold medal.‘