Built during the second decade of the 1600s, the original castle complex consisted of a stone house protected by a bawn; a defensive earthwork wall made from sods and reinforced with four flankers, which were projecting towers that allowed defenders to cover the walls from multiple angles. Today, a modern house occupies the site, but keen observers can still spot elements of the original fortification incorporated into its structure.

The most intriguing surviving feature documented in earlier surveys was a flanker at the southeast corner of the bawn. This two-storey defensive structure was no simple watchtower; it featured sophisticated cross-vaulting over the upper floor, a construction technique that distributed weight evenly whilst creating a strong, fire-resistant ceiling. The vaulting suggests this was built to last and withstand siege warfare tactics common during the plantation period in Ulster.

Perhaps most fascinating is the discovery of a tunnel that once ran beneath the site. Measuring 1.8 metres by 1.2 metres and roofed with stone slabs, this passage extended northward beyond the bawn’s perimeter. Such tunnels, often called souterrains in Irish archaeology, served multiple purposes; they could provide secret escape routes during attacks, storage for valuable goods, or hidden passages for moving between defensive positions. The combination of earthwork defences, stone fortifications, and underground passages paints a picture of a settlement prepared for the uncertainties of 17th-century Ireland, when the Ulster Plantation brought English and Scottish settlers into a landscape still contested by displaced Gaelic lords.