The castle’s ownership shifted during the turbulent years of the Plantation of Ulster, and by 1654 it had passed into the hands of Major George Carey. Carey served as tenant to Lord Chichester, one of the most powerful figures in Ireland at the time, who had received the entire Inishowen peninsula as part of the plantation scheme that saw English and Scottish settlers take control of lands confiscated from Gaelic Irish lords.

The original castle likely stood on or very near the site of the present Whitecastle, an elegant late 18th century house that replaced the earlier fortification. Whilst the First Edition Ordnance Survey 6-inch map, created in the 1830s, still marked the location of the old castle, time has not been kind to its physical remains. Today, visitors searching for traces of the original stronghold will find themselves largely disappointed; apart from what might be fragments of the old structure scattered about the yard, the medieval castle has vanished almost entirely.

This rather complete disappearance of Whitecastle serves as a reminder of how many of Ireland’s lesser fortifications have been lost over the centuries, either demolished to make way for more fashionable Georgian houses or simply allowed to crumble as their strategic importance waned. The site’s transformation from military outpost to country residence mirrors the broader changes that swept across Donegal as the old Gaelic order gave way to new colonial structures during the 17th century.