This elusive fortress doesn’t appear on the Down Survey barony maps from 1656-8 either, suggesting it had already fallen into ruin by the mid-17th century. The castle is believed to have been a stronghold of the Saunderson family, who held considerable power in this part of Ulster during the medieval period.

Today, visitors to the hilltop will find little evidence of the castle that once commanded views across the surrounding drumlin landscape. All that remains at ground level is a modest pile of stones, the last physical remnants of what was likely once an imposing defensive structure. The strategic position on the summit would have given the castle’s inhabitants clear sightlines across the countryside, making it an ideal location for monitoring and controlling the surrounding territory.

The site represents one of many lost castles scattered throughout County Cavan, structures that played crucial roles in local power dynamics but have since vanished from both the landscape and collective memory. While the Archaeological Inventory of County Cavan recorded the site in 1995, its absence from historical maps dating back to the 1650s suggests Castle Saunders had already become a ruin well before the Cromwellian period, leaving behind only local folklore and a heap of weathered stones to mark its existence.