This rectangular tower house, which once rose four storeys high, now survives as a two-storey shell measuring roughly 13 metres by 12 metres externally. Built in 1405 by Andrew Dalton, son of Henry, son of Nicholas, the castle served as one of several strongholds for the Anglo-Norman Dalton family who claimed French descent. The structure features thick rubble walls with a distinctive base batter, and the remains of stone vaulting that once covered the ground floor can still be seen springing from the northwest and northeast walls.

The castle’s strategic importance is evident from its tumultuous history. By 1641, ownership had passed to Sir Oliver Tuite, described in contemporary documents as an ‘Irish papist’, though the Down Survey of 1654-57 already noted the castle as ruinous. The site’s significance extends beyond the tower house itself; the nearby place name ‘Old Town’ likely marks the location of the medieval manor of Emper, which received a royal patent in 1338 to hold an annual fair during Whitsun week. This fair tradition continued well into the 19th century, with John O’Donovan noting in 1837 that a fair was still held annually close to the castle ruins, though he couldn’t determine whether this custom dated from when the castle was inhabited or after its abandonment.

Today, visitors can explore not just the castle remains but also the surrounding archaeological landscape. Low earthwork banks and ditches visible to the northwest, north, east and southeast represent the footings of a levelled bawn, the defensive courtyard that once protected the tower house. A ringfort sits 300 metres to the south-southwest, whilst local folklore speaks of caves, fortifications and an ancient graveyard where bishops were supposedly buried. The Inny River, marking the boundary with County Longford, flows 800 metres to the north, completing the picture of a site that has witnessed everything from medieval manor courts to 17th-century warfare, its stones bearing silent witness to the ebb and flow of Irish history.