The castle belonged to Andrew Nugent, described in contemporary documents as an ‘Irish papist’, and appeared on the Down Survey map drawn between 1654 and 1659. This comprehensive survey, conducted after the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland, documented land ownership across the country and noted three castles in Multyfarnham parish: Multifernan, Rathgany, and Moninstowne. Whilst the Down Survey clearly marked Rathganny Castle west of Multyfarnham church, the structure had vanished entirely by the time the Ordnance Survey mapped the area in the 19th century.

Archaeological investigations have yet to pinpoint the castle’s precise location, though aerial photography from 2011 has revealed intriguing possibilities. A roughly rectangular earthwork is visible near where the Down Survey suggested the castle once stood, close to an existing ringfort catalogued as WM011-030. This earthwork could mark the footprint of the lost castle, though without excavation it’s impossible to confirm whether these are the remains of Nugent’s stronghold or another structure entirely.

The disappearance of Rathganny Castle reflects a broader pattern across Ireland, where many tower houses and castles documented in the 17th century were subsequently demolished, abandoned, or repurposed for building materials. The Down Survey maps remain our primary evidence that the castle existed at all, preserving a snapshot of the Irish landscape before centuries of political upheaval, agricultural change, and urban development transformed it beyond recognition.