The site consists of a rectangular earthwork measuring approximately 42.5 metres north to south and 33.5 metres east to west, with raised mounds at three of its corners revealing collapsed masonry beneath. What you’re looking at are the remains of a fortified bawn; a defensive wall that once protected the main residence. The Civil Survey of 1654-6 records that in 1640, this was home to Thomas Butler, described as an ‘Irish Papist’, who owned ‘a Castle & Bawne, a bigg thatcht house’ here.

The most intriguing features are the foundation remains of a rectangular building in the southwest corner of the interior, built directly against the southern and western walls. Measuring 11 metres by 6.5 metres, this structure might be the tower house mentioned in historical records, or perhaps Butler’s thatched house. A possible entrance can be detected as a dip in the western scarp, whilst stone facing is still visible at the southeast angle, possibly part of a corner turret. The defensive nature of the site is enhanced by an adjoining rectangular annexe on the western side, defined by substantial earthen banks that are particularly pronounced at the southwest corner.

The surrounding landscape holds additional clues to the site’s past, with various undulations and earthworks scattered across the fields to the south and east. These include a triangular enclosure connected to the main castle earthwork by a bank running southward. Today, a post and wire fence cuts across the northern side of the earthwork, which extends along the avenue of the modern Garranlea House. Just 60 metres to the northeast stands a church, continuing the site’s long history as a focal point in this gently rolling pastoral landscape.