The Seagrave family, who made the house their home, preserved this square tower that dated back centuries. The tower’s defensive nature was evident in its gun loops; narrow openings designed to allow defenders to fire weapons whilst remaining protected behind the thick stone walls. Visitors to the house would have been particularly struck by the entrance doorway, which featured exceptionally fine hammer-dressed stonework, a technique that created a distinctive textured surface through careful chisel work.

Historical accounts from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including those by Joyce in 1912 and Ball in 1920, documented the building’s architectural significance before its unfortunate demolition. The tower house represented a common form of fortified residence built throughout Ireland from the 14th to 17th centuries, when local families needed both comfortable living quarters and defensive capabilities. These structures typically featured thick walls, narrow windows, and multiple floors accessed by spiral staircases, all designed to withstand potential attacks whilst serving as family homes.

Today, nothing remains visible at ground level where Finglaswood House once stood, its demolition occurring sometime before the early 1970s. The loss of the building means that modern visitors can no longer appreciate the craftsmanship of that hammer-dressed doorway or examine the strategic placement of the gun loops. Like many of Ireland’s historic houses that incorporated earlier fortifications, Finglaswood House represented centuries of architectural evolution and adaptation; its absence leaves a gap in the physical record of Dublin’s defensive heritage.