This fortified tower house, likely built in the 15th or 16th century, served as a stronghold for the Burke family, one of the most powerful Anglo-Norman dynasties in Connacht. The Burkes, who had arrived in Ireland during the Norman invasion, gradually became ‘more Irish than the Irish themselves’, adopting Gaelic customs and intermarrying with local clans whilst maintaining their strategic castles throughout the region.

The castle’s architecture follows the typical pattern of Irish tower houses from this period; a rectangular stone structure rising several storeys high with thick walls designed to withstand siege warfare. Though now roofless and partially ruined, the remaining walls reveal defensive features such as narrow arrow slits, murder holes above the entrance, and the remnants of a spiral staircase that would have connected the various floors. The ground floor likely housed storage and servants’ quarters, whilst the upper levels contained the lord’s private chambers and a great hall for receiving guests and conducting business.

Today, the castle ruins stand in quiet countryside, surrounded by the fields and stone walls that characterise the Mayo landscape. Local folklore tells various tales about the castle, including stories of hidden treasure and ghostly apparitions of former inhabitants. While the exact circumstances of its abandonment remain unclear, the castle was likely deserted during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland in the 1650s, when many such fortifications were deliberately destroyed or fell into disuse as the old Gaelic order gave way to English colonial rule.