A rediscovered great hall and its undercroft, the site of a harbour and an intact medieval laneway are among the features of the newly reopened Trim Castle in Co Meath.
Although accessible to visitors since the middle of last month, the castle will be officially opened tomorrow by the Minister for the Arts, Culture, Gaeltacht and the Islands, Ms de Valera, and the Minister for the Environment and Local Government, Mr Dempsey, in whose constituency it stands.
Covering approximately 1.75 hectares, the late 12th-century castle - the largest such structure in Ireland - has undergone extensive restoration over the past five years at a cost of £3 million, provided by European structural funding.
Dominating the town of Trim, which grew up around its walls, the castle was built to replace a wooden tower erected on the same site by the Norman Hugh de Lacey. Construction of the central keep was spread over three phases and took 30 years, from about 1173 to 1205, during the lifetime of Hugh de Lacey's son, Walter.
At the time it would have been the biggest building in this country, the nearest equivalent being the round towers attached to many monasteries. However, this massive block, with its highly distinctive cruciform shape, remained occupied for a relatively short time, according to Willie Cumming, senior architect in the north-eastern region for Duchas, which has been responsible for the recent restoration.
Even by the 15th century the castle was in decline, probably because it lacked any internal comforts. The entire castle was abandoned to Cromwell's army in 1649 and was left semi-derelict thereafter. Sections of the stonework, particularly from the curtain walls, were carried off for use elsewhere in Trim.
For many years the remaining property belonged to the Plunkett family, but in July 1993 the late Lord Dunsany sold Trim Castle to the State for a six-figure sum.
Since then a thorough archaeological and architectural investigation of the site has been under way during which sections of the castle buried under mounds of earth were rediscovered.
Between £500,000 and £750,000 was spent on archaeological digs, but Mr Cumming says few important individual items were found, other than a large number of decapitated corpses, suggesting executions were not unusual within the castle's walls.
Over the past five years, considerable quantities of soil have been removed so that buried sections could be seen once again. In particular, on the north side of the curtain wall, where the castle follows the line of the Boyne river, a number of buildings have been newly revealed.
These include the floor plan of the Great Hall, enlarged in 1367 on the instructions of Edward III, and the undercroft beneath. The latter space was used to store items brought into the castle from its own adjacent harbour, the site of which has also been cleared. Next to the hall is the Solar Tower, and to one side of this a paved medieval laneway was found.
While consideration was briefly given to the possibility of reinstating lost elements such as the moat which used to encircle the outer walls, the castle has deliberately been left a ruin, albeit in excellent preservation.
The keep is not roofed but covered with a fine skin of manmade stretch fibre held in place by a series of crossing metal rods. This protects the interior from rain without excluding daylight. Similarly, rather than glass the building's windows are covered by fine mesh that manages to keep out all but the most determined of pigeons.
Inside, it is possible to look up the full 100 feet to the top of the keep before climbing a series of stairs and bridges to reach the summit. Much of Meath is visible from here, but Trim Castle will also be more clearly seen in future because £200,000 has been spent on flood-lighting its exterior.
Now that visitors are again permitted within its walls, the castle is expected to become one of the most popular tourist draws in the area. Mr Cumming says 2,500 people visited within a week of opening. Duchas has also acquired land directly across the river from the castle where part of Trim town's medieval walls can be seen, and there are plans to develop a public walk here.