This motte and bailey castle, known locally as Castletown Moat, consists of a steep-sided artificial mound topped with a flat platform roughly 15 metres across, accompanied by a kidney-shaped bailey on its northern side. The entire complex is surrounded by a deep defensive ditch, or fosse, with substantial earthen banks reinforced with stone rising beyond it. Archaeological surveys have revealed traces of rectangular stone foundations in the bailey, likely the remains of domestic buildings, whilst the motte’s summit, though now bare and showing signs of disturbance, would have originally supported a wooden tower or keep.

The castle’s history is deeply intertwined with the Anglo-Norman conquest of Ireland. Built sometime before 1186, probably by Hugh de Lacy, one of the most powerful Norman lords in Ireland, it later became the centre of a sub-manor known as ‘Le Wastyn’ or Vastina. The lands of Kindalen, as they were known, passed through various noble hands; first held by Thomas FitzAvery as a tenant of Ralph Pipard of Dysart, then sold to John de Fresingfeld in 1307, before eventually becoming part of the vast estates of William de Burgo, Earl of Ulster. Following de Burgo’s death in 1333, an inquisition revealed the manor’s sorry state, with much of its 370 acres lying waste and “wholly destroyed by Macoghan and other Irish,” a testament to the ongoing conflict between Anglo-Norman settlers and Gaelic Irish clans in this frontier region.

Today, the monument offers visitors a tangible connection to this turbulent period of Irish history. From its elevated position on a natural ridge, the site commands extensive views in all directions; a strategic advantage that its medieval builders clearly recognised. Though thorn trees and bushes now grow on its slopes and field stones have been dumped in parts of the fosse, the essential structure remains remarkably intact. The visible stonework at the corners of the bailey, the clearly defined defensive earthworks, and even the subtle scarps and platforms within the enclosure all speak to the sophisticated military engineering of the 12th century and the centuries of occupation that followed.