According to the Desmond Roll of 1583-6, this extensive fortress originally featured a square plan with round towers at each corner, a defensive peel tower, multiple residential buildings, a great hall, and even gardens with fish ponds; though today most structures lie in various states of decay. Built from roughly coursed limestone rubble, the complex included a large rectangular bawn with corner towers, two multi-storey houses on the south side, and the relatively intact Desmond Hall positioned in the north-east corner.

The surviving architecture reveals fascinating construction details throughout the site. The peel tower, rising approximately 11 metres high, contained five floors with a pointed barrel vault over the second floor, whilst the adjacent building features two ground floor chambers with distinctive round barrel vaults constructed using wicker-work centering. The Great Hall, oriented east to west near the castle’s south side, remains standing to its full height of about 4.5 metres with remnants of its wall-walk and parapet still visible. Its south wall displays four large windows, including twin-light examples with double cusped pointed arches and hexagonal lights above, showcasing the sophisticated Gothic style employed by medieval craftsmen. Many windows retain their original chamfered limestone jambs with glazing grooves, whilst internally, some feature elaborate rear arches with hollow chamfered mouldings ending in decorative foliate sprays at ground level.

Despite centuries of deterioration and modern alterations, including the conversion of one chamber into a kiln, the castle complex continues to reveal its defensive and domestic functions. Gun-loops pierce the crenellated sections of the surviving bawn wall, whilst narrow slits set in deeply splayed embrasures provided both light and defensive positions throughout the various structures. The D-shaped turret at the south-west corner, though now only 4 metres high, contains a chamber with a remarkable twin-light window featuring multi-cusped lights and rectangular hood-moulding with hollow spandrels, demonstrating the architectural sophistication that once characterised this important stronghold of the Desmond earls.