This tower house, like many others scattered across the Irish landscape, was built during a period when local lords needed fortified residences that could serve both as family homes and defensive strongholds. These structures became particularly common in Ireland from the 14th to the 17th centuries, when the country was dotted with hundreds of such towers, each controlling its own small territory.

The castle follows the typical design of an Irish tower house; a tall, narrow stone structure with thick walls and small windows positioned high above ground level for security. These buildings were usually between four and six storeys high, with the ground floor often used for storage, while the upper floors contained the main living quarters, including a great hall for entertaining and conducting business. The defensive features would have included battlements at the top, murder holes above the entrance, and sometimes a bawn, or fortified courtyard, surrounding the tower.

Today, this tower house stands as a reminder of a time when the Irish countryside was divided among numerous small lordships, each centred on such a castle. While many tower houses fell into ruin after the Cromwellian conquest and subsequent changes in land ownership, those that survive offer valuable insights into how the Gaelic and Anglo-Norman nobility lived during the late medieval period. The castle at Townparks joins the ranks of Ireland’s approximately 3,000 known tower houses, though only a fraction of these remain in any substantial form.