The extraordinarily preserved yet little-visited ruins of Cistercian Bective Abbey are off the R161, 7km northeast of Trim. Founded by Murchadh O'Melaghin, King of Meath, in 1147, the abbey was confiscated by Henry VIII between 1536 and 1541 to fund his military campaign. Like Trim Castle, Bective Abbey also played a starring role in Braveheart. The evocative ruins are free to visit and are open round the clock; there's a small car park next to the site.
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Nearby County Meath attractions
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About 1.5km east of town on Lackanash Rd are the ruins of the former Parish Church of Newtown Clonbun, the Cathedral of Sts Peter & Paul and 18th-century…
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Gráinne was the daughter of King Cormac, the most lauded of all high kings. Betrothed to Fionn MacCumhaill (Finn McCool), she eloped with Diarmuid, one of…
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South of Tara's church, the Royal Enclosure is a large oval Iron Age hill fort, 315m in diameter and surrounded by a bank and ditch cut through solid rock…
4. Enclosure of King Laoghaire
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South of Tara's Royal Enclosure is this large but worn ring fort where the king, a contemporary of St Patrick, is said to be buried standing upright and…
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Tara's most unusual feature is a rectangular earthwork measuring 230m by 27m along a north–south axis. Tradition holds that it was built to cater for…
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Tara's Protestant church grounds and graveyard spill onto the remains of this triple-ringed fort where some of St Patrick's early synods (meetings)…
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A former Protestant church (with a window by acclaimed stained-glass artist the late Evie Hone) is home to Tara's visitor centre, which screens a 20…
8. St Mary's Abbey & Talbot Castle
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