Originally built as a MacRaghnall stronghold, with records dating back to 1491 and 1499, the castle had shifted to Brian Ballach O’Rourke’s control by 1540. O’Rourke likely seized it to intimidate the MacRaghnall and other families of Muintir Eolis whilst harassing his rival, Mac Dermot of Moylurg. The strategic position, roughly 400 metres from where the canal meets the River Shannon, made it a prize worth fighting for.

The castle’s turbulent history reached a dramatic peak in 1580 when Brian of the Ramparts O’Rourke destroyed his own fortress rather than see it fall to Sir Nicholas Malby’s advancing forces. Malby rebuilt and garrisoned the castle, but O’Rourke immediately laid siege to it, forcing the English garrison to abandon their post shortly afterwards. Today, visitors can still see a 13-metre stretch of mortared limestone masonry, standing 2.8 metres high and nearly a metre thick, with two small openings that may have been part of the original bawn wall; though archaeological testing in 2004 found no related materials in the surrounding area.

The castle witnessed one final chapter of resistance in January 1603, when Donal Cam O’Sullivan Beare arrived with just thirty-five survivors from the thousand followers who had begun the legendary march from Dunboy in Cork following the defeat at Kinsale. Brian Óg O’Rourke, the last Irish leader still in rebellion, made his final stand here before fleeing to Rosa-Iarla friary near Lough Corrib in April, where he died the following January. These weathered stones have watched Leitrim transform from a contested frontier fortress to a peaceful village, their presence a tangible link to Ireland’s complex medieval and early modern history.