Whilst it appears clearly marked on the Down Survey barony maps from 1656-8, its exact location remains tantalisingly elusive. The Down Survey, commissioned by Oliver Cromwell to map and redistribute Irish lands after his conquest, provides one of the most comprehensive cartographic records of 17th-century Ireland, making the castle’s inclusion all the more significant.

Modern archaeological techniques have revealed cropmarks visible in aerial photographs, particularly in image BDS 67 from the Cambridge University Collection of Aerial Photography. These ghostly outlines in the fields suggest buried foundations or ditches, telltale signs of medieval structures long since vanished from the landscape. However, without excavation or more detailed survey work, pinpointing the castle’s precise footprint remains impossible.

The mystery of Stabannan Castle reflects a common challenge in Irish archaeology, where centuries of agricultural use, stone robbing for building materials, and natural decay have erased many medieval structures from the visible landscape. What survives in the historical record; a mention on a map here, a faint trace in a field there; offers just enough evidence to confirm these places existed, whilst leaving their full stories frustratingly incomplete.