Today, only the northwest corner of this former tower house remains, rising about 11.5 metres from a grass-covered mound of collapsed rubble that fills what was once the vaulted ground floor. The surviving walls, built from roughly coursed limestone blocks with finely cut quoinstones, feature several defensive loops and show traces of rendering. A curious carved stone head still projects from a quoinstone on the northwest angle, whilst another was reportedly discovered nearby during building removals in the late 20th century.

The castle’s history reveals a turbulent past of changing allegiances between the O’Loughlin and O’Brien clans. In 1574, the tower house belonged to the O’Loughlins, though ownership shifted repeatedly throughout the 17th century between members of both families. A fascinating 1607 document by Mahon O’Loughlin provides a rare glimpse into the castle’s internal layout, describing various chambers including two cellars, a porter’s room near the entrance, and intriguingly, a room called ‘Gystallagh’, possibly meaning ‘the hall of the mercenary soldiers’. The castle also contained Mahon’s personal chamber and what was delicately termed ‘the house of office’ or ‘private house’.

By 1703, mounting debts forced the Earl of Inchiquin to sell the property to Patrick Burrell of Ranaghan, after which the area became increasingly remote and neglected. Despite this decline, the tower house remained occupied well into the 19th century, with residents recorded in 1808 and 1837. However, by 1839, the Ordnance Survey Letters described it as ‘much injured’, with only its north side in ‘tolerable preservation’. The castle appears on both the 1842 and 1920 Ordnance Survey maps, the latter showing only an L-shaped portion of the structure still standing, much as visitors find it today.