This tower house appears on his 1594 perspective map of the town, though its exact location remains somewhat uncertain today. The castle was likely one of many defensive towers that once dotted the landscape around Dundalk, serving as fortified residences for local families during Ireland’s turbulent medieval period.

By the mid-18th century, the castle had fallen into ruin, becoming one of what contemporary accounts described as ’18 or 20 ruinous remains of small castles or defensive towers’ scattered throughout the area. Around 1747, Lord Limerick, presumably concerned about the dilapidated state of these structures or perhaps wanting to modernise the landscape, ordered their removal. This systematic clearing of old fortifications was common during this period, as landowners sought to transform medieval defensive landscapes into more fashionable Georgian estates.

Today, no visible traces of Howth’s Castle remain, and its story survives only through historical records and Duke’s centuries-old map. The site serves as a reminder of Dundalk’s medieval past, when tower houses provided both homes and strongholds for families navigating the complex political landscape of Anglo-Norman Ireland. Archaeological surveys conducted in the 1980s and 1990s have helped piece together what little is known about this lost structure, ensuring its place in the historical record even if the stones themselves have long since vanished.