Today, keen observers can still spot mysterious earthworks in what locals have long called Castle Field, a name that first appeared on Ordnance Survey maps in 1840. These subtle undulations in the landscape, captured in aerial photographs from 2005 to 2012, may well be the ghostly footprint of Annaghrostie Castle and its protective bawn wall. Intriguingly, Ashfort Cottage, sitting just 90 metres to the west-northwest, might have been constructed directly atop the castle’s original foundations.

The castle’s documented history reads like a who’s who of 16th and 17th century Irish landholding. In 1542, Tege O’Brene held Anaroche, as it was then known, with Brian Duff taking possession by 1584. The turn of the century saw N. Stritch controlling half the castle and its surrounding bawn walls at Annagh Rosin in 1600. Historical records from 1609 mention the ford and brook at Anagh Irestie, painting a picture of a strategic riverside location that would have been perfect for controlling local movement and trade.

By 1657, the site had become part of Mungret parish, positioned near the stream opposite Greenmount, before being confirmed to E. Rolleston in 1667. The antiquarian Thomas Johnson Westropp, writing in the early 1900s, meticulously recorded these ownership changes, preserving a paper trail that helps us understand how this once prominent fortification gradually faded from active use into the realm of memory and archaeology. Today, Castle Field stands as a testament to Ireland’s layered past, where every subtle rise and depression in the earth whispers stories of medieval power, Gaelic lords, and the endless cycle of conquest and change that shaped the Irish landscape.