Originally constructed in the 15th or 16th century as an addition to the eastern end of the Anchorites’ church, this defensive structure served both religious and secular purposes for centuries. The tower’s strategic placement adjacent to the church reflects the common medieval practice of combining spiritual and defensive architecture, particularly in areas where religious communities required protection.

In 1680, Richard Nugent, Earl of Westmeath, undertook an ambitious rebuilding project that would transform both the tower house and its associated chapel. A sandstone plaque above the Nugent mausoleum door proudly proclaims this renovation, bearing the Nugent arms and declaring in Roman capitals that the Earl rebuilt “this chaple and castle for the buryinge place and pious vse of himselfe and his svcessors.” This inscription provides valuable insight into how Irish nobility of the period viewed these structures; not merely as defensive fortifications, but as family monuments meant to secure their legacy for generations.

The tower itself is a rectangular limestone structure measuring approximately 4.17 by 2.45 metres internally, featuring a projecting stair turret on its western side. Architectural details include a rounded southwest corner rising two metres above ground level, a buttress at the northwest corner, and intriguing decorative elements such as a pointed head with broad forehead and open mouth on the stair turret’s west wall. A damaged limestone gargoyle, depicting a winged creature whose face has been destroyed, projects from the south wall above the first floor. The tower’s current entrance through the Nugent mausoleum, with no evidence of alternative access points, suggests that a chapel once stood on the structure’s north side, creating an interconnected religious complex that served both the living and the dead.