Meath Castles & Forts

Danestown Ringfort - Co Meath

Danestown Ringfort, Co Meath at Danestown County Meath is without doubt one of the most impressive ringforts, where the inner raised circular platform is over four metres high with a deep fosse (ditch), pictured right and outer bank, the outer bank is over two metres high in places. The ringfort has a diameter of about 150 feet.

Newgrange - Co Meath

Newgrange, Co Meath was constructed over 5,000 years ago (about 3,200 B.C.), making it older than Stonehenge in England and the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt. Newgrange was built during the Neolithic or New Stone Age by a farming community that prospered on the rich lands of the Boyne Valley. Knowth and Dowth are similar mounds that together with Newgrange have been designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

Access to the monuments at Newgrange and Knowth is only by guided tour from the Brú na Bóinne Visitors Centre which is located on the south side of the tive Boyne

Trim Castle, Trim, Co Meath

Trim Castle, Trim, Co Meath on the shores of the Boyne has an area of 30,000 m². It is the remains of Ireland's largest castle. The Castle was used as a centre of Norman administration for the Liberty of Meath, one of the new administrative areas of Ireland created by Henry II of England and granted to Hugh de Lacy. de Lacy took possession of it in 1172. The film ‘Braveheart’ staring Mel Gibson chose Trim in County Meath as the shooting location for the epic thriller.

The Yellow Steeple - Co Meath

The Yellow Steeple - Co Meath takes its name from the golden colour of the stonework at sunset. It is a tall tower that was originally part of an Augustinian Abbey, St Mary's.

Bective Abbey, Navan Road, Co Meath

Bective Abbey, Navan Road, Co Meath was founded in 1147 by Murchadh O' Melaghin, King of Meath, for the Cistercians, and was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin. It was an abbey of some importance as the Abbot was a spiritual lord and sat in the Parliament of the Pale. Hugh De Lacy, was buried there in 1195, but was eventually moved to Dublin. The abbey was suppressed in 1536 and the lands were rented to Thomas Asgarde, and eventually bought by Andrew Wyse in 1552. It passed into the hands of the Dillons and then the Boltons, before falling into ruin. The chief features of the ruins are the combination of both Church and Defence. The Cloister is the best preserved of the buildings and there is a pillar of a figure carrying a crozier. There are also some beautiful arches which are still intact.

Slane Castle, Co Meath

Slane Castle in Meath being well known mainly for the many wonderful music concerts which have been held on its grounds throughout the years.