The main tower, possibly built after 1583 when the property was granted to William ffox, measures approximately 13.6 metres by 8 metres externally, with internal dimensions of about 5 metres by 7.8 metres. Rising to around 15 metres in height, the castle features five storeys in total; two levels below a vaulted third floor, followed by two lofty upper storeys adorned with elegant two and three-light mullioned windows complete with hoodmoulds and transoms. Square bartizans once defended the northeast and southwest corners, whilst a now-destroyed circular staircase turret occupied the southwest corner alongside the original south-facing entrance.

The castle evolved significantly during the early 17th century, when substantial additions transformed it into an impressive fortified complex. Around 1600 to 1620, a house was added to the south side, though only fragments remain today including the south end wall and projecting wings to the east and west. The defensive capabilities were enhanced through the construction of multiple bawn walls; first, a small back court with its own doorway and corner bartizan, then a 20-metre square bawn to the east, and finally a substantial outer bawn measuring 38 metres by 26 metres on the north side, complete with a north-facing gateway and provisions for a southeast corner bartizan. These outer walls once enclosed what an 1840 observer described as “a very extensive range of strong and old looking buildings”, including high-gabled and chimneyed houses that bordered the courtyards.

The castle’s later history reflects the turbulent politics of 17th-century Ireland. The ffox family briefly lost possession in 1621 but had recovered it by 1657, before selling to the Evans family in the 1660s, who added outbuildings including what appears to have been a stableblock with servants’ quarters in the west end of the outer bawn. Despite surrendering without resistance to Cromwell’s forces during the Confederate Wars, the castle met a violent end during the Williamite War; by September 1690, when John Stevens’s Jacobite army camped in its gardens, the “great house” had been burnt, leaving the impressive stone walls and battlements standing amongst the ruins. These substantial remains, documented by antiquarians throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, preserve a detailed picture of how Irish tower houses evolved into more complex fortified residences during a period of persistent conflict and changing architectural fashions.