The castle was built by the Ferriter family, who had held extensive lands here since the late 13th century, probably constructing their fortified residence in the late 15th or 16th century when ‘Ferters Creek’ had become a port of considerable importance. The family’s most famous member, the poet Piaras Feirtéar, lived here until his capture and execution in Killarney in 1653, after which the castle fell into ruin; by 1756 it was already described as derelict.

The tower house was cleverly positioned on the inner bank of an ancient promontory fort’s eastern defences, with its battered east wall resting on boulder foundations near the bottom of the defensive ditch. Originally a rectangular structure measuring about 6.6 by 5 metres internally, with walls 1.6 metres thick built from coursed sandstone flags and rubble, the castle suffered catastrophic storm damage in 1845. Today, only the northwest corner survives to its full height of 11 metres, along with fragments of the southeast angle and lower courses of the east wall, where a low opening may have served as an outlet for a garderobe shaft.

What remains reveals a sophisticated multi-storey design typical of late medieval Irish tower houses. The vaulted lower storey, lit by a double-splayed loop window, contained wall cupboards in the northwest corner and beam holes suggesting a mezzanine floor beneath the vault. Above this, a pointed barrel vault once supported the main residential chambers, though it has now completely collapsed. The upper storey featured window openings with chamfered details and built-in wall presses for storage, indicating this was likely the principal living space. For those interested in exploring the site virtually, a 3D model is available at https://skfb.ly/6AGnw, offering a detailed view of this evocative ruin where one of Ireland’s last Gaelic poets once composed his verses.