This three-storey mansion, complete with gables, oriels and a castellated corner tower, sits on historically significant ground; the site has been occupied since 1213 when the Anglo-Normans erected their original castle here. According to the Annals of Clonmacnoise, that medieval fortress was completed in 1214 as part of Theobald Walter’s sub-infeudation after he was granted Munster in 1185. The original castle likely stood atop a nearby motte to the south of the current building, though no visible traces remain at ground level today.

Archaeological investigations have revealed tantalising glimpses of the site’s layered past. In 1982, excavations in the southeast corner of Castle Bernard’s courtyard uncovered human remains, suggesting the possible presence of an earlier burial ground, though no additional graves were found. More intriguingly, at a depth of 0.58 metres, archaeologists discovered evidence of an earlier wall structure predating the 19th-century courtyard, hinting at unknown buildings that once occupied this spot. Further archaeological assessment in 2004 revealed remnants of walls, cobbled surfaces and linear features associated with the Victorian-era castle’s activities, whilst trenches in the walled garden area uncovered a linear ditch likely related to 19th-century landscaping efforts.

Despite multiple archaeological investigations, including test trenching in 1997 that examined both a proposed sewage treatment area and the house’s shore or moat, many questions about the site’s medieval origins remain unanswered. The transformation from Norman stronghold to Gothic Revival mansion represents over 600 years of continuous occupation and adaptation, with Castle Bernard now operating as Kinnitty Castle Hotel, its exquisitely landscaped gardens and historic architecture continuing to draw visitors to this corner of Offaly where medieval and Victorian histories intertwine.