Built atop a steep-sided earthen mound that rises seven metres on its northern side, the structure is approached by an 18-metre earthen causeway from the south. The mound itself, with its flat top measuring about 15 metres across, was cleverly constructed around a natural rock outcrop, providing both defensive advantages and structural stability. From this elevated position, Kilnatoora Castle can be spotted roughly 800 metres to the southeast, suggesting these fortifications once formed part of a broader defensive network in medieval Cork.

The rectangular tower, measuring approximately 13.5 metres north to south and 10 metres east to west, still stands three storeys high despite centuries of weathering and neglect. The ground floor, entered through a doorway at the northern end of the western wall (now unfortunately blocked with concrete), contains a sizeable chamber lit by windows on three sides, though all are heavily damaged. A clever architectural feature is the straight mural staircase built into the western wall, which rises from the ground floor entrance to the second floor at the southern end, with a doorway cut through the vault providing access to the first floor. The first floor retains evidence of sophisticated design, including an L-shaped mural chamber in the northwest corner and the remains of a rounded, wicker-centred vault running north to south, though its northwest end has collapsed.

Historical records suggest this was a Geraldine castle, later repaired and fortified by the Earl of Cork, though frustratingly little else is documented about its history. The tower shows signs of various periods of occupation and modification; the ground level has been lowered by nearly half a metre, leaving a visible plinth along the base of the interior walls, whilst practical additions like a garderobe chute opening on the external eastern wall, positioned about three metres above ground level, speak to its use as a residence as well as a fortification. Today, whilst the southern wall at second floor level has vanished and access to the upper floor remains impossible, enough survives of this tower house to offer visitors a tangible connection to Cork’s turbulent medieval past.