2 metres east to west and 9.3 metres north to south. Though it now rises to three storeys, it was originally taller, and represents a typical example of the fortified residences built by Anglo-Norman families across Cork during the medieval period. The castle belonged to the Fitzgeralds, one of the most powerful families in Munster, who retained ownership until the twentieth century. Several architectural fragments found in the area provide tantalising glimpses of the castle’s former grandeur, including a carved stone slab bearing the Fitzgerald coat of arms, now built into a nearby roadside wall, and decorative stones with spiral and foliated motifs discovered in the surrounding townlands.

The tower’s ground floor is accessed through a wide round-arched opening in the north wall, though this entrance has been rebuilt and isn’t original. Inside, a small lobby leads to the main ground-floor chamber, a space measuring 6.45 metres by 4.8 metres, lit by narrow slit windows typical of defensive architecture. A straight mural staircase rises from the lobby to the first floor, where it continues as a spiral stair to the upper levels. The first-floor chamber, entered through a pointed-arch doorway, is covered by a distinctive rounded vault running east to west. This level also contains what appears to have been a mural chamber at the south wall’s eastern end, complete with a window and possibly a garderobe; essential facilities for medieval living.

Today, the castle shows considerable wear from centuries of exposure to the elements. Various breaches in the walls, some partially filled with modern masonry, mark where windows once provided light and ventilation. The vaulted mural chamber above the doorway opens into the thickness of the west wall, demonstrating the substantial construction methods employed by medieval builders. While much of the upper storeys have been lost to time, a slender section of the north wall still rises above the vault, preserving part of a window embrasure that hints at the tower’s original height and the views it once commanded over the surrounding Cork countryside.