The site, known as Killasmeestia or Killismestia Castle, appears on the Down Survey maps from 1654 to 1657, those detailed cartographic records created following the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland. While the castle itself has vanished from the landscape, leaving no visible surface remains, its memory persists in historical documents and archaeological surveys.

The ringfort still bears one intriguing feature that hints at its former grandeur; a small chamber tucked into one corner. This modest space, measuring roughly five feet square with walls about three feet thick, may be all that remains of the castle’s physical presence. Local historian Carrigan, writing in 1905, suggested this chamber likely marks the exact spot where Killasmeestia Castle once stood, noting its appearance on the Down Survey maps as evidence of its historical significance.

The site represents a common Irish archaeological puzzle, where medieval structures have disappeared entirely save for their footprints in the landscape and their names on old maps. The Archaeological Inventory of County Laois, compiled in 1995, formally catalogued this location, ensuring that even though the stones have long since been carried away, the story of Killasmeestia Castle remains part of Ireland’s historical record. Such sites remind us that Ireland’s medieval landscape was far more densely populated with castles and fortifications than what survives today.