The tower, which measures 4.8 metres north to south and 8.9 metres east to west, was once the stronghold of the O’Driscoll clan, one of the most powerful maritime families in medieval Cork. Though the structure is overlooked from the western approach, its strategic position allowed the O’Driscolls to monitor and control maritime traffic entering the harbour. Remnants of a defensive bawn wall can still be traced crossing the neck of the promontory to the west of the tower, including a heavily modified section that marks where the original gateway stood, complete with a ruined mural tower immediately to its north.

The tower itself has seen better days, having been modified for use as a farm building in more recent times, though it now stands disused. Originally taller than its current two storeys, the structure has been topped with a modern galvanised roof. The ground floor entrance in the west wall has been blocked, and what was once a window in the north wall now serves as a doorway. Inside, a modern wooden floor covers the ground level, though the original corbels and joist holes that supported the medieval wooden floor remain visible. The first floor, accessed through a door in the west wall, reveals more of the tower’s original defensive features: mural passages flanking the doorway lead to a tall narrow loop in the southwest corner and spiral stairs in the northwest corner, whilst a small mural chamber opens off the north wall.

The castle’s turbulent history reflects the contested nature of this strategic location. In 1537, citizens of Waterford attacked the O’Driscoll stronghold, and during the Nine Years’ War, Spanish forces garrisoned the castle in 1601 as part of their ill-fated intervention in support of the Irish confederacy. Despite its current state of modification and decay, the tower remains an evocative reminder of the O’Driscolls’ former power and the complex political dynamics of early modern Ireland, when local clans, English colonists, and continental powers all vied for control of Ireland’s strategic harbours.