Trim Castle

Trim is home to Western Europe's largest Norman castle, Trim Castle (or King John's Castle) which was built in the late 12th century following the Norman invasion of Ireland's eastern seaboard. Trim and the surrounding lands were granted to Hugh de Lacy, a Norman knight. Richard II of England stayed there before being ousted from power. Once a candidate to be the country's capital, the town has also occupied a role as one of the outposts of the Pale. It was also designated by Elizabeth I of England as the planned location for a Protestant Dublin University (known as Trinity College, Dublin).^{[citation needed]} However this was revised by Sir Francis Drake, who advocated the case for locating the University in Dublin. In 1649 after the sacking of Drogheda, the garrison of Trim fled to join other Irish forces and the town was occupied by the army of Oliver Cromwell. There were many local disturbances in neighbouring villages in the Irish Rebellion of 1798, most infamously the massacre on the Hill of Tara, following the dispersal of the Wexford rebellion. Trim was represented by Arthur Wellesley in the Irish Parliament from 1790 to 1797. Source: Wikipedia