This four-storey fortification measures 14.2 metres from northeast to southwest and 10.2 metres from northwest to southeast, with walls that slope outward at the base for added stability. The tower’s defensive features are immediately apparent at ground level, where visitors would have entered through a portcullis-protected doorway on the southeast wall, only to find themselves in a lobby with a murder hole overhead; a sobering reminder of the castle’s violent purpose.

The interior layout reveals the sophisticated medieval engineering that went into these structures. A mural staircase on the eastern side connects the floors, illuminated by narrow windows and a twin-light window at its top. The first floor, roofed by a remarkably well-preserved vault, contains an ogee-headed window on the northeast wall and access to practical amenities like a garderobe, whose waste chute exits at ground level. The second floor holds one of the castle’s most intriguing features: a concealed chamber hidden within the southwest wall, measuring five metres long but only 1.4 metres wide, accessible through a hole in the western corner. This windowless secret room, standing 2.3 metres high, speaks to the paranoia and real dangers faced by the castle’s inhabitants.

The castle’s history took a dramatic turn in 1592 when Sir Richard Bingham captured it from the Burkes, inflicting heavy casualties on the defending family in the process. Today, the remaining structure shows evidence of various modifications over time, including blocked windows and a damaged first-floor doorway, whilst beam slots in the walls hint at wooden floors and structures long since vanished. Large window remains on the southeast and southwest walls of the upper floors suggest that later occupants may have prioritised comfort over defence, perhaps converting what was once a forbidding fortress into something approaching a more comfortable residence before its eventual abandonment.