Today, visitors won’t find any standing walls or towers; instead, there’s only a scattered collection of uncut stones that mark where this medieval stronghold once stood. The site offers little to the casual observer, with no visible foundations remaining to hint at the castle’s original layout or size.

The castle’s location near the Awbeg River would have been strategically chosen, as waterways provided both natural defence and vital transport links in medieval Ireland. Like many Irish castles that have vanished from the landscape, Shanballymore likely served as a fortified residence for a local lord, controlling the surrounding lands and offering protection to tenants during times of conflict. The proximity to the later Shanballymore House suggests this spot maintained its importance as a seat of local power even after the castle fell into ruin.

Archaeological records from County Cork’s inventory confirm that nothing of the original structure survives above ground, making this one of the many “lost” castles dotting the Irish countryside. These forgotten sites, marked only by stone scatters and place names, serve as quiet reminders of Ireland’s turbulent medieval past, when hundreds of such fortifications controlled the rural landscape. For history enthusiasts willing to search through the undergrowth, the stones at Shanballymore offer a tangible, if modest, connection to centuries of Irish history.