First marked as ‘Castle’ on the 1837 Ordnance Survey map, these weathered remains measure approximately 18 metres northeast to southwest and 8 metres northwest to southeast. The walls, now reduced to mounds between half a metre and a metre high, still reveal large stones and boulders amongst their ruins, with gaps visible midway along the northwest wall and at the southwest end of the southeast side.

What makes this site particularly intriguing is its unusual layout, which suggests it may not be a castle at all. A small rectangular annex or tower, measuring 8 by 5 metres, projects from the middle of the southeast side, possibly the remnants of a staircase tower that once provided access to an upper floor. Archaeological surveys have identified this as more likely being a 16th or 17th century fortified T-plan house rather than a traditional tower house. The absence of any castle marked on the 17th century Down Survey map of Mullingar parish supports this theory, though we know the lands belonged to Alexander Hope, listed as an ‘Irish papist’ in 1641.

The site reveals additional mysteries in its surroundings; the footings of a long rectangular structure to the southwest, possibly a garden boundary feature, and traces of a parallel wall foundation about three metres northwest of the main building. Old cultivation ridges running northeast to southwest in the surrounding fields speak to centuries of agricultural use, whilst the strategic positioning on raised ground with commanding views in all directions hints at its defensive purpose. Today, these subtle earthworks blend seamlessly into the pastoral landscape, visible from above in aerial photography as ghostly outlines of a once-substantial dwelling that straddled the line between domestic comfort and military necessity.