While local tradition attributes its construction to Sir Reginald le Denne around 1290, documented history places the castle firmly in the 17th century when it belonged to the Cheevers family of Ballyhealy. According to the Civil Survey of 1654–6, Haimond Cheevers held 210 acres and the castle at Danescastle in 1640, making it a substantial estate for its time.

The tower itself measures 8.3 metres north to south and 6.25 metres east to west, built with careful attention to defensive architecture. Two separate entrances provide access: a pointed granite doorway on the north wall, likely a later addition despite its seamless stonework, and another on the east wall that leads through a lobby protected by a murder hole above. The ground floor chamber features three embrasures; two with double splayed loops for defence on the west and south walls, whilst the eastern one remains blank. Above, a barrel vault spans the first floor, and from here, an intricate system of mural and newel stairs winds upward through the tower’s core, connecting all five levels.

Each floor reveals the castle’s dual purpose as both fortress and residence. The second storey boasts rectangular windows with seats, a destroyed fireplace whose flue is supported by external corbels, and defensive features including a garderobe at the northwest corner and another murder hole commanding the stairway. The third floor contains a fireplace with its granite mantle still intact at the southern end of the west wall, whilst the upper floors become progressively simpler, culminating in a wall walk with vanished battlements. Evidence of additional buildings remains visible in the form of rooflines etched into the eastern façade, and though the castle sits within a rectangular field bounded by earthen banks and hedges, no trace of the original bawn or defensive enclosure survives today.