The manor here, originally called Tildavin or Tillaghdovan, passed through the hands of several Norman families; the Hores, Redes, and St. Johns; during the 13th and 14th centuries, when it was held as half a knight’s fee from the powerful Bigod estate. Over time, the name evolved into Tomhaggard, the village we know today.

By the 17th century, what historical records describe as ‘a large ruinous stonework’ had become the property of William Rossiter of Bargy. Today, only the southeastern wall of this once-imposing castle survives, stretching 7.5 metres long and standing 6.5 metres high. At its northern end, you can still spot a garderobe chamber; essentially a medieval toilet; measuring about 1.5 metres long and just over half a metre wide. This small room, accessed through a stone-lintelled doorway, would have been located at the second floor level when the castle was complete. Interestingly, the ground on the northwestern side has been built up over the centuries, now sitting level with the second floor and flush with the nearby street about 35 metres to the west.

What makes this ruin particularly fascinating is how it was adapted for religious use during the Penal Laws era. A mass-house was built directly against the inner face of the castle wall, cleverly incorporating the medieval structure into its design. An embrasure, or window opening, in the tower house wall was repurposed as an altar shelf for Catholic services. The garderobe chamber, sitting just outside the mass-house proper, found new life as a confessional; a rather fitting transformation for such a private space. Archaeological excavations in 2003, conducted whilst underpinning a buttress on the north side of the mass-house, disappointingly failed to uncover any artefacts that might shed more light on this intriguing period of the building’s history.