This L-shaped tower house, built from rough sandstone rubble with carefully cut corner stones, once stood four storeys tall, though its southern and western walls have long since crumbled away. The remaining structure reveals fascinating defensive features: narrow gun loops that once protected the blocked doorway, splayed embrasures at ground level, and the remnants of battlements that crowned the building, supported by double and triple corbels that still cling to the walls.

The castle was originally enclosed within a substantial bawn wall, creating a fortified compound typical of troubled times in medieval Ireland. Fragments of this defensive perimeter survive along the south, where it stretches for 55 metres, and partially along the western and northern boundaries. The northwest corner bristles with four gun loops, demonstrating the serious defensive considerations of its builders. Intriguingly, traces of what appears to be an earlier bawn wall can be spotted running northwest from the main enclosure, following the natural edge of the raised ground and suggesting the site may have been fortified in phases.

Historical records paint a picture of decline; the Civil Survey of 1654-6 describes ‘a castle out of repayre’ at Clonenakeany, with John O’Magher listed as the proprietor in 1640. The tower house shares its elevated position with other significant structures, including a rectangular enclosure and medieval church that crown the low ridge immediately to the west. Today, collapsed farm buildings lean against the ancient walls, their decay mirroring that of the castle itself, whilst the interior defensive walls are obscured by centuries of rubble accumulation.