Built during the plantation era of the 16th and 17th centuries, bawns were defensive enclosures that protected the homes and livestock of English and Scottish settlers from raids and attacks. These rectangular stone walls, often featuring defensive towers at the corners, served as both practical fortifications and symbols of the new colonial order being imposed across Ireland.

The Castlefarm bawn would have originally enclosed a fortified house or small castle at its centre, creating a secure compound where settlers could retreat during times of conflict. The thick stone walls, typically standing three to four metres high, were designed to withstand both organised assaults and the more common cattle raids that plagued the Irish countryside during this period. Arrow slits and musket loops pierced the walls, allowing defenders to repel attackers whilst remaining protected behind the sturdy masonry.

Today, these weathered stone walls offer visitors a tangible connection to a complex period when Gaelic Ireland was being systematically transformed through plantation policies. The bawn stands as a monument to the tensions between native Irish communities and incoming settlers; a physical reminder of how architecture itself became a tool of colonisation. Walking around the perimeter, one can still trace the defensive mindset of its builders, who viewed the surrounding landscape with both opportunity and trepidation, never quite certain whether their neighbours would prove to be trading partners or threats.