What visitors see today is a modest subrectangular mound measuring roughly 14.7 metres by 10.5 metres, formed from collapsed earth and stone that once constituted a defensive castle. The site first appeared on the 1837 Ordnance Survey map as a rectangular structure marked ‘Castle (in ruins)’, though by the 1913 revision, only an oval earthwork remained, annotated as ‘Castle (site of)’.

The castle’s history can be traced back to at least 1641, when the lands belonged to Richard Hope, recorded as an ‘Irish papist’ in contemporary documents. Interestingly, no castle appears in this townland on the 17th century Down Survey map of Mullingar parish, suggesting either its construction came later or it had already fallen into disrepair by that time. The original fortification included a bawn, a defensive walled enclosure typical of Irish castles, whose L-shaped remnants can still be traced adjoining the southwest side of the main structure.

Archaeological surveys reveal that post-1700 quarrying disturbed the eastern portion of the site, though aerial photography continues to show the oval earthwork clearly, along with traces of the bawn wall. Just 310 metres to the north stands Hopestown Church, creating a small cluster of historical monuments that speak to centuries of settlement in this part of Westmeath. While the castle may lack the dramatic towers and battlements of better-preserved fortifications, its earthen remains offer a tangible connection to Ireland’s complex medieval and early modern past, when local landowners like the Hope family navigated the turbulent religious and political landscape of their time.