Built sometime in the 15th or 16th century, the structure was likely erected by one of the local Gaelic families who controlled this part of Clare during the turbulent centuries before English rule fully took hold. The castle’s position offered commanding views over the surrounding countryside, allowing its inhabitants to monitor movement along the ancient routes that crisscrossed this part of western Ireland.

The remains consist primarily of a tower house, a type of fortified residence particularly common in Ireland between the 14th and 17th centuries. These structures served as both defensive strongholds and symbols of authority for the Gaelic and Anglo-Norman families who built them. At Crovraghan, visitors can still trace the outline of the main tower’s walls, though time and weather have taken their toll; the upper floors have long since collapsed, leaving only the lower portions standing as testament to the building’s former strength.

Local tradition associates the castle with various raids and skirmishes that characterised life in medieval Clare, though specific historical records are scarce. What remains clear is that this was once a significant local landmark, part of a network of similar fortifications that dotted the Clare landscape. Today, the ruins sit quietly in the landscape, accessible to those willing to seek them out amongst the fields and stone walls that characterise this corner of rural Ireland.