The site appears on both the 1835 and 1945 Ordnance Survey six-inch maps with its name rendered in italic lettering; a cartographic convention that typically suggests the presence of an antiquity or castle. The name itself, Castlecarra, translates to “castle of the rock”, hinting at a defensive structure that once may have stood here.

The original building that occupied this site belonged to the Vaughan family and survived until the 1960s, when it was demolished. Local memory describes it as a distinctive red brick structure, though whether this was the original castle or a later dwelling built on the same spot remains unclear. The use of red brick would suggest a building from the 18th or 19th century rather than a medieval fortification, raising questions about what earlier structures might have preceded it.

Today, no visible traces of either the castle or the Vaughan house remain on the surface, and documentary evidence for a medieval castle at this location has proven elusive. The site’s designation on historical maps and its evocative name are now the primary clues to its past significance. This absence of physical and archival evidence places Castlecarra among Ireland’s many “lost” castles; sites where local tradition and place names preserve memories of structures that have completely vanished from the landscape.