December

THE STEPS PUB IN TRIM COUNTY MEATH

The Steps Pub Is Located Across The Road From The Wellington Monument – At The Corner Of Emmet Street And Patrick Street.

A few days ago I discovered that my Grandfather was the owner of this pub a long time ago. I had been aware that another member of the family once owned Marcie Regans Pub which is one of the oldest in Ireland.

The Steps Pub was in reasonable condition when I photographed in December 2014 but it appeared to be somewhat neglected when I photographed it today [Christmas 2024]. I was surprised when my brother, who lives in Trim, told me that the Steps Pub is no longer in business as it ceased trading in 2023. The reasons for the pub’s closure are not clear. However, it is likely that the pub was struggling, post-Covid, to compete with newer pubs in the area that offered more modern facilities and entertainment but a large number of pubs have closed in the last few years for a variety reasons. According to one recent report: “Ireland’s pubs are shutting down fast with Cork and Limerick losing almost one-in-three of all licensed premises since 2005. Of the 108 pubs that closed last year, half – 54 – were in Cork. Changing lifestyles, rural depopulation plus tougher drink driving laws and enforcement has hit rural pubs hard”. According to the Irish Times an average of 152 pubs have shut each year since 2019 and over 450 pubs have gone out of business since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Pub is not a protected structure but the letter box is a protected structure NIAH Reg. No: 14328009 … Wall-mounted cast-iron post box, c. 1905, with ER VII insignia. This cast-iron post box is an important feature in the social and urban fabric of the town and is located at a prominent crossroad. The execution of the raised lettering and crown is particularly pleasing in this simple post box. Cast-iron post boxes which are still in use are becoming less common and are often replaced by modern boxes.

INITIALLY I WAS INTERESTED IN THIS BUILDING ONLY BECAUSE OF THE OLD POST BOX ON THE SIDE WALL [THE STEPS PUB IN TRIM COUNTY MEATH]-226389-1
INITIALLY I WAS INTERESTED IN THIS BUILDING ONLY BECAUSE OF THE OLD POST BOX ON THE SIDE WALL [THE STEPS PUB IN TRIM COUNTY MEATH]-226390-1
INITIALLY I WAS INTERESTED IN THIS BUILDING ONLY BECAUSE OF THE OLD POST BOX ON THE SIDE WALL [THE STEPS PUB IN TRIM COUNTY MEATH]-226391-1

PHOTOGRAPHED ON SAINT STEPHEN’S DAY 2022

Saint Stephen’s Day, also called the Feast of Saint Stephen, is a Christian saint’s day to commemorate Saint Stephen, the first Christian martyr or protomartyr, celebrated on 26 December in Western Christianity and 27 December in Eastern Christianity.

As already mentioned I used a recently introduced [at the time] Sony FX30 camera when I visited Trim in County Meath last Christmas. At the time I did not realise that it was not possible to process the RAW files until well into 2023 … I do not know why there was such a delay. When I did manage to process the files I was not happy with the resulting images and decided to wait until now [22 November 2022] to see if I could get better results using a variety of tools including some some Beta applications.

St. John’s Priory was established by Simon Rochfort, Bishop of Meath, c. 1202 for the Crutched Friars. The first record of the priory is in 1281 when there was a grant of alms from the manor of “Magathtreth.”

In 1513 Edmund Dillon was prior of this monastery; his brother Thomas Dillon was prior of Saints Peter and Paul’s at the time. Their brother Robert was granted the priory at the 1540 Dissolution of the Monasteries. At the time the priory consisted of a church, two towers, a hall, storehouse, kitchen, brewhouse, two granaries, a dovecote and a haggard (stackyard). There were 90 acres (36 ha) of arable land near the Boyne, land and a mill on the Leinster Blackwater, a castle and land at Longwood, County Meath and various other lands in the county.

He later sold it to the Ashe family. After they abandoned it, it was supposedly granted to the Catholic Bishop of Meath. After the Battle of the Boyne (1690) the building was granted to one of King William’s men. According to one story, on his first night in the holy spot he saw a “most horrid vision” and at dawn he rode away never to return.

The site was excavated by David Sweetman in 1984, who found the remains of a 15th-century rood screen and a doorway in the gable end of the nave.

The hospitals of the Crutched Friars were built similar to all Canons Regular monasteries, but with special facilities for caring for the sick. One of the buildings shows the remains of a chute disposing of waste material into the river.

Among the remains is a church with nave and chancel and a large three-light window in the east wall. Part of a long two-storey building remains, as does a 15th–16th century enclosing wall with a corner turret. There is also a 15th-century three-storey tower which is vaulted above ground level and forms part of the defensive wall.

THE PRIORY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST [PHOTOGRAPHED ON SAINT STEPHEN'S DAY 2022]-225123-1
THE PRIORY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST [PHOTOGRAPHED ON SAINT STEPHEN'S DAY 2022]-225124-1
THE PRIORY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST [PHOTOGRAPHED ON SAINT STEPHEN'S DAY 2022]-225130-1
THE PRIORY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST [PHOTOGRAPHED ON SAINT STEPHEN'S DAY 2022]-225126-1
THE PRIORY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST [PHOTOGRAPHED ON SAINT STEPHEN'S DAY 2022]-225127-1
THE PRIORY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST [PHOTOGRAPHED ON SAINT STEPHEN'S DAY 2022]-225128-1
THE PRIORY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST [PHOTOGRAPHED ON SAINT STEPHEN'S DAY 2022]-225129-1
THE PRIORY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST [PHOTOGRAPHED ON SAINT STEPHEN'S DAY 2022]-225131-1
THE PRIORY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST [PHOTOGRAPHED ON SAINT STEPHEN'S DAY 2022]-225132-1
THE PRIORY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST [PHOTOGRAPHED ON SAINT STEPHEN'S DAY 2022]-225133-1
THE PRIORY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST [PHOTOGRAPHED ON SAINT STEPHEN'S DAY 2022]-225134-1
THE PRIORY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST [PHOTOGRAPHED ON SAINT STEPHEN'S DAY 2022]-225125-1
THE PRIORY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST [PHOTOGRAPHED ON SAINT STEPHEN'S DAY 2022]-225135-1
THE PRIORY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST [PHOTOGRAPHED ON SAINT STEPHEN'S DAY 2022]-225138-1
THE PRIORY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST [PHOTOGRAPHED ON SAINT STEPHEN'S DAY 2022]-225136-1
THE PRIORY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST [PHOTOGRAPHED ON SAINT STEPHEN'S DAY 2022]-225137-1
THE PRIORY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST [PHOTOGRAPHED ON SAINT STEPHEN'S DAY 2022]-225139-1
THE PRIORY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST [PHOTOGRAPHED ON SAINT STEPHEN'S DAY 2022]-225140-1
THE PRIORY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST [PHOTOGRAPHED ON SAINT STEPHEN'S DAY 2022]-225141-1
THE PRIORY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST [PHOTOGRAPHED ON SAINT STEPHEN'S DAY 2022]-225142-1
THE PRIORY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST [PHOTOGRAPHED ON SAINT STEPHEN'S DAY 2022]-225153-1
THE PRIORY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST [PHOTOGRAPHED ON SAINT STEPHEN'S DAY 2022]-225152-1
THE PRIORY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST [PHOTOGRAPHED ON SAINT STEPHEN'S DAY 2022]-225154-1
THE PRIORY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST [PHOTOGRAPHED ON SAINT STEPHEN'S DAY 2022]-225155-1
THE PRIORY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST [PHOTOGRAPHED ON SAINT STEPHEN'S DAY 2022]-225156-1
THE PRIORY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST [PHOTOGRAPHED ON SAINT STEPHEN'S DAY 2022]-225158-1
THE PRIORY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST [PHOTOGRAPHED ON SAINT STEPHEN'S DAY 2022]-225157-1
THE PRIORY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST [PHOTOGRAPHED ON SAINT STEPHEN'S DAY 2022]-225159-1
THE PRIORY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST [PHOTOGRAPHED ON SAINT STEPHEN'S DAY 2022]-225160-1
THE PRIORY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST [PHOTOGRAPHED ON SAINT STEPHEN'S DAY 2022]-225161-1
THE PRIORY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST [PHOTOGRAPHED ON SAINT STEPHEN'S DAY 2022]-225162-1
THE PRIORY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST [PHOTOGRAPHED ON SAINT STEPHEN'S DAY 2022]-225163-1
THE PRIORY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST [PHOTOGRAPHED ON SAINT STEPHEN'S DAY 2022]-225165-1
THE PRIORY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST [PHOTOGRAPHED ON SAINT STEPHEN'S DAY 2022]-225166-1
THE PRIORY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST [PHOTOGRAPHED ON SAINT STEPHEN'S DAY 2022]-225167-1
THE PRIORY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST [PHOTOGRAPHED ON SAINT STEPHEN'S DAY 2022]-225164-1
THE PRIORY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST [PHOTOGRAPHED ON SAINT STEPHEN'S DAY 2022]-225168-1
THE PRIORY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST [PHOTOGRAPHED ON SAINT STEPHEN'S DAY 2022]-225169-1
THE PRIORY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST [PHOTOGRAPHED ON SAINT STEPHEN'S DAY 2022]-225171-1
THE PRIORY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST [PHOTOGRAPHED ON SAINT STEPHEN'S DAY 2022]-225170-1
THE PRIORY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST [PHOTOGRAPHED ON SAINT STEPHEN'S DAY 2022]-225172-1
THE PRIORY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST [PHOTOGRAPHED ON SAINT STEPHEN'S DAY 2022]-225174-1
THE PRIORY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST [PHOTOGRAPHED ON SAINT STEPHEN'S DAY 2022]-225173-1
THE PRIORY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST [PHOTOGRAPHED ON SAINT STEPHEN'S DAY 2022]-225175-1
THE PRIORY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST [PHOTOGRAPHED ON SAINT STEPHEN'S DAY 2022]-225177-1
THE PRIORY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST [PHOTOGRAPHED ON SAINT STEPHEN'S DAY 2022]-225180-1
THE PRIORY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST [PHOTOGRAPHED ON SAINT STEPHEN'S DAY 2022]-225176-1
THE PRIORY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST [PHOTOGRAPHED ON SAINT STEPHEN'S DAY 2022]-225178-1
THE PRIORY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST [PHOTOGRAPHED ON SAINT STEPHEN'S DAY 2022]-225181-1
THE PRIORY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST [PHOTOGRAPHED ON SAINT STEPHEN'S DAY 2022]-225183-1
THE PRIORY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST [PHOTOGRAPHED ON SAINT STEPHEN'S DAY 2022]-225179-1
THE PRIORY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST [PHOTOGRAPHED ON SAINT STEPHEN'S DAY 2022]-225182-1
THE PRIORY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST [PHOTOGRAPHED ON SAINT STEPHEN'S DAY 2022]-225184-1
THE PRIORY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST [PHOTOGRAPHED ON SAINT STEPHEN'S DAY 2022]-225186-1
THE PRIORY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST [PHOTOGRAPHED ON SAINT STEPHEN'S DAY 2022]-225185-1
THE PRIORY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST [PHOTOGRAPHED ON SAINT STEPHEN'S DAY 2022]-225187-1
THE PRIORY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST [PHOTOGRAPHED ON SAINT STEPHEN'S DAY 2022]-225189-1
THE PRIORY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST [PHOTOGRAPHED ON SAINT STEPHEN'S DAY 2022]-225190-1
THE PRIORY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST [PHOTOGRAPHED ON SAINT STEPHEN'S DAY 2022]-225191-1
THE PRIORY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST [PHOTOGRAPHED ON SAINT STEPHEN'S DAY 2022]-225193-1
THE PRIORY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST [PHOTOGRAPHED ON SAINT STEPHEN'S DAY 2022]-225194-1
THE PRIORY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST [PHOTOGRAPHED ON SAINT STEPHEN'S DAY 2022]-225192-1
THE PRIORY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST [PHOTOGRAPHED ON SAINT STEPHEN'S DAY 2022]-225195-1
THE PRIORY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST [PHOTOGRAPHED ON SAINT STEPHEN'S DAY 2022]-225196-1
THE PRIORY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST [PHOTOGRAPHED ON SAINT STEPHEN'S DAY 2022]-225197-1

INITIALLY I WAS INTERESTED IN THIS BUILDING ONLY BECAUSE OF THE OLD POST BOX ON THE SIDE WALL REF-226389-1

THE PRIORY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST

TRIM CASTLE IN COUNTY MEATH

BOUNTY BAR ACCOMMODATION