Built sometime before the mid-16th century, the castle’s earliest documented connection appears in 1540 when James Butler served as a juror, though the structure itself isn’t specifically mentioned in records until it appears on the Down Survey barony map of 1656-8. The Butler family’s association with the site continued through several generations; Pat Butler served as a juror in 1576, and another James Butler held the position of free tenant in 1611. However, by the 1640s, the Butlers had likely departed, with the lands passing to Rowland Scurlocke and Richard Wadding. Following the Cromwellian confiscations of 1654, the castle came into the possession of John Herron before eventually transferring to the Boxwell family.

The tower itself is a substantial rectangular structure measuring 9.7 metres northeast to southwest and 8.6 metres northwest to southeast, rising through five storeys to its stepped crenellations. Its defensive features remain impressively preserved, from the round-arched granite doorway protected by both machicolation and portcullis, to the murder hole cunningly positioned over the lower stairs. The interior reveals a sophisticated layout typical of its era: the ground floor sits beneath a stone vault, whilst the upper floors housed the main living quarters, complete with fireplaces, garderobes, and window seats. The second floor clearly served as the principal chamber, boasting a grand granite fireplace in the northwest wall, its flue projecting externally, alongside multiple windows with built-in seating and a private garderobe.

Ascending through the tower, each level reveals different defensive and domestic arrangements. The third and fourth floors feature simpler rectangular windows, whilst a newel staircase at the eastern angle leads to the wall-walk with its intact battlements. The defensive capabilities are evident in the varied loops; a simple slit-loop pierces a merlon on the southeast parapet, whilst a cross-loop appears in the northeast wall. A particularly interesting feature is the lookout platform over the stair housing, originally timber-roofed and lit by three ogee-headed windows, demonstrating both practical defensive needs and a degree of architectural refinement. Though buildings now abut three of the tower’s walls, no evidence suggests a bawn ever enclosed the site, indicating the tower stood as a solitary defensive structure on this level landscape.