The castle’s origins trace back to 1505, when Hugh Roe O’Donnell first erected a fortress on this strategic site. By 1566, it had grown into something remarkable; Sir Henry Sidney, the Lord Deputy, described it as “one of the greatest that ever I saw in Ireland in any Irishman’s lands.” Despite suffering burning in 1589 and partial demolition in 1595 to prevent English forces from using it as a garrison, the O’Donnells rebuilt their stronghold, only to lose it permanently to the English in 1601.

The castle’s most dramatic transformation came under Captain Basil Brooke, who received a grant of the property in 1611 and was knighted five years later. Brooke converted the medieval tower house into a fashionable Jacobean manor by adding a gabled wing and installing features like the ornate fireplace that still bears his coat of arms. By 1611, records describe “a fair bawn built with flankers” surrounding “a strong house of stone.” The fortified complex served the Brooke family through turbulent times, including the 1641 rebellion when Henry Brooke held it against various attacks, though it briefly fell to Clanrickarde in 1651.

Today’s ruins reveal this layered history clearly. The original tower house, much altered over time, connects to Brooke’s early 17th century manor house at the northeast corner of the bawn. Protected naturally by the River Eske on its north and east sides, the complex retains sections of its defensive walls complete with splayed loops, whilst a two storey gate tower with a bartizan at its southeast corner guards the entrance. After falling into decay during the 18th century, the castle was taken into state care in 1898 and now stands as National Monument number 174, its stones preserving the ambitions and conflicts of both Gaelic lords and English planters.