Built sometime between the 15th and 17th centuries, these compact stone castles served as both defensive structures and family homes for the Gaelic aristocracy and Anglo-Norman settlers. The Ballybeggan tower house follows the typical design of its era: a rectangular stone structure rising several storeys high, with thick walls that could withstand attacks whilst providing living quarters for the lord’s family above ground level.

The castle’s architecture tells the story of a turbulent period in Irish history when local chieftains and landowners needed to balance domestic comfort with military defence. Each floor would have served a different purpose; storage and servants’ quarters at ground level, the main hall for receiving guests and conducting business on the first floor, and private chambers above. The narrow spiral staircase, designed to give defending swordsmen the advantage against attackers climbing upwards, winds its way through the thick walls. Murder holes, narrow window slits for archers, and bartizans projecting from the corners all speak to the constant threat of raids and territorial disputes that characterised medieval and early modern Ireland.

Today, the tower house at Ballybeggan stands as a reminder of Kerry’s feudal past, when dozens of such castles controlled strategic points across the county. Though many of these structures fell into ruin following the Cromwellian conquest and subsequent Williamite wars, their remains continue to mark the landscape. The Ballybeggan example, like others throughout Kerry, offers visitors a tangible connection to the centuries when clan loyalty, cattle raids, and shifting alliances between Gaelic and Norman families shaped the political and social fabric of Ireland.