The castle first appears on the 1656 Down Survey parish map, where it’s shown close to Kilbride Church on lands belonging to Richard Tyrell, an Irish Catholic landowner. When Tyrell died, an inquisition held at Mullingar in March 1663 recorded 435 acres of land in Kilbride as part of his estate. The property then passed to the North family, with Roger North of Kilbride Castle dying there in 1766. By 1837, the castle had become the property of A. J. Wilkington and was already being described as ‘the remains of a strong hold of the Tyrrells’.

The castle ruins measure an impressive 28.5 metres east to west and 13.5 metres north to south, with two angle towers still partially standing. Though the north wall has largely disappeared except for a small section at the eastern end, the other three walls remain upright, complete with the poorly preserved remnants of corner towers on the southwest and northwest angles. Architectural details reveal the castle’s former sophistication; there’s evidence of a stone vault that once covered the ground floor, visible at the east end of the south wall, whilst a mural staircase in the south wall provided access to the first floor. The southwest angle tower contains traces of both a spiral staircase and a garderobe, and the surviving windows consist of narrow defensive slits set into wide, deep embrasures. A base batter, though mostly robbed out over the centuries, can still be traced along sections of the walls.

Today, the castle serves the rather humble purpose of a hay shed, protected by a galvanised roof, with a farmyard occupying the space to its north. Kilbride House, built 40 metres to the northeast, incorporates what appears to be the remains of a small tower in its western end; this rounded bay with its internal spiral staircase might be all that survives of a defensive bawn that once enclosed the castle. The 19th century additions to the site include a two storey dovecote built into the walled courtyard and a wide entrance inserted into the castle’s south wall. A small kidney shaped pond to the southeast poses an intriguing question: whilst it may date from post 1770 landscaping works, it could potentially represent the remains of a medieval fish pond associated with the castle, later adapted as an ornamental feature for Kilbride House.