Before its destruction in 1952, this site featured a circular motte; a man-made earthen mound that stood 3 metres high with a diameter of 28 metres, surrounded by a wide defensive ditch called a fosse. The entire complex was further protected by an oval-shaped bailey, an enclosed courtyard measuring 100 metres east to west and 70 metres north to south, creating the classic motte and bailey castle design that the Normans brought to Ireland in the 12th century.

Though the physical structures are long gone, modern technology has revealed the castle’s ghostly outline beneath the soil. Aerial photographs from 1971 captured soil marks showing the site’s layout, whilst more recent digital imagery from 2016 displays cropmarks revealing both the outer oval enclosure and faint traces of a smaller oval structure within. These subtle variations in vegetation growth occur where the buried ditches and earthworks affect soil moisture and nutrients, allowing archaeologists to map features invisible at ground level.

Archaeological investigations in 2004 brought fascinating details to light through geophysical survey and test excavations. The survey detected extensive remains including the enclosing fosse, which excavation revealed to be 5 metres wide, along with various internal features of the castle complex. Unexpectedly, the dig also uncovered evidence of a burnt mound, a prehistoric cooking site that predates the medieval castle by potentially thousands of years, suggesting this strategically positioned spot beside what is now a major road has been significant to humans for millennia.