Built by the Baldwin family in the 17th century, this fortified residence tells the story of a time when comfort and security went hand in hand in rural Ireland. The main house foundations, now covered in sod, trace out an L-shaped structure measuring 19 metres east to west and 20 metres north to south, with a circular tower at its northwest corner featuring an internal diameter of 2.7 metres.

What makes Mossgrove particularly intriguing are the two circular, two-storey towers that stand 23.5 metres apart to the west of the main house, connected by a much-repaired wall that reaches heights of around 3 metres. The northern tower, with its 2.2-metre internal diameter and 0.9-metre thick walls, is accessed through a lintelled doorway on its southeast side. Its southern companion, slightly larger at 2.3 metres internally but with thinner walls at 0.75 metres, has its entrance at first-floor level on the northeast corner and features a gun loop; a narrow vertical slit with D-shaped terminals that would have allowed defenders to cover the approach along the northern wall whilst remaining protected.

The Baldwins eventually moved on to the grander Mount Pleasant House, leaving Mossgrove to slowly surrender to the elements. Later additions from the 19th century include walls forming a large rectangular enclosure that run north from the northern tower and east from the southern one. Today, these ruins offer visitors a tangible connection to Ireland’s turbulent past, when even country houses needed to be ready for defence, their thick walls and strategic gun loops speaking to an era of constant vigilance.