Yet historical records tell us there was once a substantial fortification here. The Down Survey, that remarkable mapping project undertaken in the 1650s following Cromwell’s conquest of Ireland, specifically noted ‘a castle on a mount’ at this location. This tantalising reference, recorded when the structure was presumably still standing or at least its ruins were visible, provides our main evidence for what once stood here.

The elevated position described in the survey would have been typical of Anglo-Norman defensive architecture in Ireland. Castles built on mounts, whether natural hills or artificial mounds called mottes, offered clear strategic advantages; they provided commanding views of the surrounding countryside and made any assault more difficult. The fact that no trace remains visible today isn’t unusual for medieval fortifications in Ireland, many of which were robbed of their stone for building materials over the centuries or simply collapsed and became overgrown.

Local historian P. O’Flanagan, writing in 1933, also made note of this lost castle, suggesting it remained part of local memory even after the physical structure had vanished. The site serves as a reminder of how much of Ireland’s medieval landscape has been lost, with only documentary evidence and place names remaining to hint at the castles, towers, and fortified houses that once dotted the countryside. For those interested in tracking down this phantom fortress, the Archaeological Inventory of County Offaly, published in 1997, provides the most reliable coordinates for where this castle once stood.