According to historical records, the castle may have been built by King John, though this claim comes from Dyneley and remains unverified. By 1840, the structure was already in ruins; only fragments of the north and south walls remained standing at heights of 10 and 22 feet respectively. Today, even less survives, with the outlines of the levelled castle and bawn barely discernible in modern aerial photographs.

The site has a rich documentary history stretching back to the 16th century. In 1583, the Earl of Desmond held Awney Manor along with “two Skulls” in the parish of Hospital. By 1612, the property had passed to J. Stritch, who held the castle, bawn, water mill and two weirs in fee, with his son William inheriting after him. The estate changed hands several times throughout the 17th century; Sir William Parsons acquired it in 1624 following Alderman William Stritch’s ownership, whilst James held the castle, bawn and mills in 1639. During the Commonwealth period, William Hurley controlled the property in 1657, before it was confirmed to Captain A. Ormsby in 1666 and later held by Captain Ingoldesbye in 1680.

Archaeological surveys conducted by the Ordnance Survey Ireland have captured the ghostly outlines of the castle and bawn through aerial photography, though these cropmarks have become increasingly difficult to detect in recent Digital Globe imagery. The site was documented by Westropp in 1906-7 and more recently catalogued by Caimin O’Brien in March 2020, preserving the memory of this once significant fortification that played a role in the complex land ownership patterns of post-medieval Limerick.