Though the castle itself has long since vanished, this hillside location once commanded impressive vistas to the north, south and west, whilst the rising ground to the east provided natural protection. Today, visitors to this quiet spot near the parish priest’s house might struggle to imagine the substantial fortress that once stood here.

Historical records paint a picture of what remained in the 19th century. The Ordnance Survey Letters of 1839 documented a surviving western wall that stretched approximately 8 metres in length and stood 6 metres high, one of the last remnants of the medieval structure. Local historian William Carrigan, writing in 1905, noted that the castle ruins had been demolished within living memory, and that whilst the townland had once belonged to the powerful Earls of Ormond, it had by then passed to the Bryan family. Frustratingly, no records survive to tell us about the castle’s construction or its role in local affairs.

Archaeological investigation reveals subtle traces of the castle’s footprint. The terrace itself, measuring roughly 25 metres north to south and 20 metres east to west, was deliberately cut into the hillside to create a level platform for the building. Wall footings running 10 metres along the southern edge mark where the castle’s foundations once stood, whilst traces of an old trackway to the south hint at the original approach route. These faint impressions in the landscape are all that remain of Shanganny Castle, a reminder of how completely time and human activity can erase even substantial stone buildings from the Irish countryside.