This square limestone structure rises two storeys with distinctive projecting towers at the northeast and southwest corners; a classic example of defensive architecture from Ireland’s turbulent past. The building’s history stretches back centuries, with the 1654 Civil Survey recording “part of an old castle at Kinure”, an earlier name for Rush Demesne, where Thomas Delahide and Robert Walsh resided as tenants of a much larger medieval manor.

The lands surrounding this tower house tell a story of changing fortunes and noble ownership. From the reign of Edward I until 1641, the manor belonged to the Earl of Ormond, one of Ireland’s most powerful aristocratic families. Following the restoration of Charles II, the Duke of Ormond received a confirmation grant of 594 acres at Kinure in 1666. The property later passed to the Echlin family, who served as attendants to the Duke, eventually descending to Sir Robert Echlin by 1767. This succession of ownership reflects the complex web of land tenure that characterised Anglo-Irish society for centuries.

Today, visitors can still appreciate the tower house’s robust construction, though time and nature have taken their toll. The ground floor features a vaulted ceiling, complete with a fireplace built into the eastern wall and storage recesses flanking a single window in the north wall. A stone spiral staircase once led to the upper floor, though the original round-arched doorway has been missing since 1979. According to a 2011 structural survey, extensive vegetation growth and collapsing interior wall facings threaten the monument’s future stability, whilst modern additions like nearby railings and a playing field have somewhat diminished its medieval atmosphere.