The castle’s Irish name, Na Púícíní, meaning “the little huts”, offers a charming contrast to what was once a formidable fortification. Built around the late 15th century, the structure consists of a small tower, defensive wall, and turret, all strategically positioned across the neck of an earlier promontory fort that dates back even further in time.

The tower, situated at the southern end of the defensive wall, once housed three small vaulted rooms in its basement according to early 20th century antiquarian Thomas Johnson Westropp. Today, only the central room survives, measuring 3 metres by 2.3 metres, with a weathered doorway and a narrow slit window facing west. Westropp also documented traces of a wooden and earthen hall that had been attached to the tower’s northwest side, though no visible evidence of this structure remains above ground today.

From the tower, a wall stretches northward for approximately 13 metres before terminating at a gateway. Beyond this point stand the remains of a turret measuring 9.2 metres wide by 5.2 metres long, though coastal erosion has taken its toll; the northeast corner has been undercut by as much as 2 metres. The eastern and western walls of the turret still stand between 3.8 and 4 metres high, their metre thick construction a testament to the defensive priorities of late medieval Ireland. These ruins offer a tangible connection to Kerry’s turbulent past, when such fortifications dotted the coastline to protect against raiders and rival clans.