The site, which lay within a large fortified enclosure called a bawn, was positioned about 40 metres west of the River Nore. The property belonged to the Grace family, one of the prominent Anglo-Norman families who settled in County Kilkenny during the medieval period. By the mid-19th century, however, not a single stone remained standing; the entire structure, including its foundations, was completely demolished around 1849 or 1850.

Before its destruction, the complex consisted of an ancient tower house with a sizeable Elizabethan mansion attached to its southern side. An antiquarian sketch provides valuable details of what the castle looked like in its prime. The main tower featured a ground floor entrance on its eastern wall, with single windows ascending four levels above the doorway, some possibly lighting an internal staircase. The top of the south gable had a two-light window, whilst the castle was crowned with a parapet and defensive bartizan on its northeastern corner. The later 16th-century house addition reflected the changing needs of the Grace family as they transitioned from medieval fortress living to more comfortable Renaissance accommodation.

The ruins of an additional building stood north of the castle, though only fragments remained even when the sketch was made; just a north gable and a large, two-storey high round-headed opening in the eastern wall. Curiously, whilst local historian Carrigan documented the castle’s existence in 1905, it appears to have already vanished by 1839, as neither the first Ordnance Survey map of that year nor the accompanying survey letters make any mention of it. This discrepancy in dates suggests the castle may have been levelled earlier than local memory recalled, leaving only stories and a single sketch to tell of this once-impressive stronghold on the banks of the Nore.