Built in the 15th century by the Butlers, Earls of Ormond, this fortress played a pivotal role during the Irish Rebellion when Richard Butler maintained a garrison here for the King. The castle witnessed dramatic moments, including its siege and relief by James, 12th Earl of Ormond, and later its capture by Sir Peter Carew in 1589. Eventually passing to the Rochfort family, the castle’s military importance waned as they constructed a more modern residence nearby, leaving the old stronghold to gradually decay.

Historical sketches reveal the castle’s impressive former glory; Thomas Dinely’s 1680 drawing depicts a substantial four-storey structure with decorative gables, crenellated parapets, and an adjoining building, whilst Francis Grose’s sketch from around 1790 shows it already transformed into a romantic ivy-clad ruin. By then, the castle comprised a square tower connected by a high screen wall to a northern angle topped with a machicolated turret. The main tower, once approximately 60 feet high with walls four feet thick built from limestone and plastered mortar, featured pointed arch windows with Tudor label mouldings, suggesting various phases of architectural modification over the centuries.

Today, only fragments remain of this once-formidable fortress. Following partial collapse during a 1931 storm and subsequent demolition by the County Council for safety reasons, the site now consists primarily of a pointed gateway with granite roll-moulded surround, likely added when Clogrenan House was built 600 metres away in 1806. This gateway, set within limestone rubble walls, serves as a poignant entrance to the demesne, whilst remnants of a base-batter on the northern face and traces of what may have been a defensive moat hint at the castle’s martial past. Protected under a preservation order since 1995, these surviving elements offer visitors a tangible connection to centuries of Irish history, from medieval warfare to Georgian gentrification.