This square tower, measuring 5.35 metres on each side and rising about 7 metres high, was likely never a castle at all, despite local antiquarian John O’Donovan’s claim around 1840 that it belonged to the Hays family. The structure appears to be a folly or gazebo built on the grounds of Ballinkeel House, later cleverly repurposed as a dovecote.

The tower’s construction of mortared shale walls, nearly a metre thick, gives it a convincingly medieval appearance. A lintelled doorway on the south wall provides access to the interior, where the walls are lined with niches for doves rather than the defensive features one might expect in a genuine castle. At first floor level, each wall features a large pointed window, approximately a metre wide and two metres high, though these have since been blocked up. The Gothic revival style of these windows suggests this was a romantic architectural feature rather than a defensive fortification.

Historical records support this interpretation; the Civil Survey of 1654 to 1656 shows that William Kennay, a Protestant, owned 300 acres at Ballinkeel in 1641, but makes no mention of any castle. Whilst the Hays family did acquire the land during the 18th century, no other contemporary sources reference a castle here. The confusion likely arose from the tower’s castle-like appearance and its subsequent labelling on official maps, creating a cartographic myth that persisted for over a century.