The site, which commands steep drops to the south and east, appears on early Ordnance Survey maps from 1842 as a small circular area, evolving in later depictions to show a hachured mound. The castle’s Irish name, Caisleán na Binne Rua, translates poetically as ‘Castle of the Red Pinnacle’, a fitting description for its dramatic position on the landscape.

The castle’s history reflects the complex politics of late medieval and early modern Ireland. Originally situated within O’Loughlin territory, it may be the “Beaneoroe” mentioned in records from 1574, though its ownership remained contentious. Throughout the late 16th and early 17th centuries, control passed between the O’Loughlins, O’Briens, and O’Flanagans, with the O’Briens ultimately retaining it after the 1641 rebellion. They continued to lease the property to various tenants well into the mid-18th century. The structure still stood in 1787 when it appeared on Pelham’s Grand Jury map and was included in Dutton’s 1808 survey, but by the 1830s, observers like Lewis and O’Donovan were recording it as a ruin.

Today, visitors to the site encounter a grass-covered rubble mound measuring roughly 20 metres east to west and 10 metres north to south, rising to about 5 metres at its highest point. A rock-cut fosse, or defensive ditch, extends for over 20 metres immediately southwest of the mound, cutting through the high ground that connects this promontory to the main plateau. Among the scattered remains lie several architectural fragments; carved jamb stones with chamfers and rebates, along with a curved stone that once formed part of a doorway arch, offering tangible connections to the castle’s former grandeur. Foundation stones of additional buildings can be traced at the eastern base of the mound and west of the fosse, suggesting this was once a more extensive settlement than the solitary tower its name implies.