Where fertile fields now stretch, poor rocky ground once surrounded this medieval stronghold, reclaimed over centuries of agricultural improvement. The castle appears on Ordnance Survey maps from 1842 and 1915, already marked as ruins, suggesting its decline began well before the 19th century.

The castle’s ownership reads like a who’s who of Clare’s turbulent history. Records show the O’Loughlins held it in 1574, before it passed to Turlough O’Brien a decade later in 1584. By 1641, the Hogans had taken up residence, followed by Redmond Magner in 1664; both families served as tenants under the Earl of Inchiquin. The early 18th century brought financial complications when Earl William O’Brien mortgaged the property to Sir Donough O’Brien of Dromoland in 1706. It appeared amongst Dromoland’s holdings by 1711, though by then the occupants went unrecorded, perhaps indicating the castle’s declining importance.

Today, nothing remains visible at ground level of Castle Mael, its stones likely robbed for local building projects or simply swallowed by the landscape. The 1839 records confirm it was already in ruins by then, marking the end of a structure that witnessed over 250 years of Clare’s complex political and social changes. Research by local historians Risteárd Ua Cróinín and Martin Breen has helped piece together this fragmentary history, ensuring that whilst the castle itself has vanished, its story remains part of the county’s rich heritage.