Within the varied landscape of the counties of Longford, Meath and Westmeath which form
North Leinster lie some of Ireland's most remarkable buildings. The round towers and majestic
high crosses of the early Irish monasteries at Monasterboice and Kells contrast with the great
Norman castle at Trim, with the evocative remains of once powerful abbeys at Bective, Fore and
Mellifont, and with scores of tall fortified tower-houses. The country houses of Irish
Palladianism by architects such as Richard Castle and Thomas Cooley are followed by the
classicism of Francis Johnston and the Picturesque romantic styles of Daniel Robertson and
James Shiel. The major towns of Athlon, Drogheda, Dundalk and Mullingar chart the urban
history of Ireland, while the countryside boasts a rich diversity of Victorian Gothic churches and,
in the present century, the Celtic revival and classical compositions of Ralph Byrne.
