The tower measures 14.5 metres north to south and 9.5 metres east to west, with distinctive rounded corners that would have helped deflect projectiles during sieges. Originally known as Dun Gallane and built as a Condon family stronghold, the castle passed to the Cooke family in the 18th century, who later constructed a house nearby that was unfortunately burnt in 1921 during the War of Independence.

The castle’s ground floor reveals a sophisticated defensive layout, with the main entrance on the eastern wall protected by a machicolation at parapet level; a defensive feature that allowed defenders to drop stones or hot liquids on attackers below. Once inside, visitors would have encountered a lobby system with pointed arch doorways leading to various chambers, including an unusually large guardroom measuring nearly six metres across. The ground floor also contained a concealed vaulted chamber beneath the guardroom floor, likely used for storage or as a prison cell. As you ascend through the building via the mural stairs, each floor reveals increasingly comfortable living spaces, from simple slit windows on the lower levels to elegant ogee-headed windows in the upper chambers, complete with fireplaces and garderobes.

The upper floors demonstrate the transition from military fortress to comfortable residence, with the second and third floors containing multiple chambers featuring decorative windows and domestic amenities. The castle’s complex internal arrangement includes narrow mural passages, spiral staircases tucked into the walls, and cleverly positioned chambers that maximise the available space within the thick walls. Though now partially collapsed and overgrown with ivy, particularly at the northern end where evidence suggests the tower may have risen an additional four storeys, Castlecooke remains an excellent example of a late medieval Irish tower house, combining defensive strength with surprisingly sophisticated living quarters.