This was part of the Ulster Plantation, when English and Scottish settlers were encouraged to establish themselves on confiscated Irish lands. By 1619, when the surveyor Nicholas Pynnar conducted his inspection of Ulster’s planted counties, the site boasted an impressive three-storey castle protected by a bawn; a defensive wall enclosing the castle grounds; complete with two flanking towers for additional security.

The original castle met an unfortunate end when it was completely destroyed by an accidental fire, leaving little trace of the early plantation fortification. In 1764, G. Mountgomery Esq. constructed a new house on the castle’s foundations, effectively erasing the last visible remains of the 17th-century stronghold above ground. However, the site hasn’t given up all its secrets; archaeological testing carried out in 2004 uncovered a substantial section of wall stretching 10 metres long and standing up to 0.7 metres high. The wall, a metre thick and built from well-coursed stone bonded with white lime mortar, likely represents part of the original bawn or castle structure.

These archaeological remnants offer a tangible connection to Cavan’s plantation period, when the landscape was dramatically transformed by new settlers, fortified houses, and the political upheavals of the era. While the castle that once dominated this corner of Annagh is long gone, the surviving stonework beneath the soil serves as a reminder of the area’s strategic importance during one of the most turbulent periods in Irish history.