The current structure was built in the mid-1600s by William Baillie, a Cromwellian planter who arrived during one of Ireland’s most turbulent periods. Baillie chose to construct his fortified residence on or near the site of an earlier stronghold, continuing a tradition of defensive architecture that had marked this spot for generations.

The original fortification on this site was known as Tonregie, which appears in Captain Nicholas Pynnar’s 1619 survey of Ulster plantations. According to Samuel Lewis’s 1837 topographical dictionary, this earlier castle featured impressive defensive elements: a vaulted structure protected by a square bawn measuring 90 feet on each side, with two flanking towers providing additional security. These features were typical of plantation-era architecture, designed to protect settlers whilst asserting control over the surrounding landscape.

The ancient castle survived intact for nearly two centuries before meeting an unceremonious end. Oliver Davies noted in 1948 that the original structure had been demolished just a few years prior to make way for additions and improvements to a newer house on the site. This practice of dismantling historic structures for building materials was common throughout Ireland, leaving archaeologists and historians to piece together the past from foundations, written records, and the occasional surviving wall.