This was once a stronghold of the O’Byrne clan, one of the most powerful Gaelic families in the region, who controlled much of the Wicklow Mountains during a turbulent period of Irish history. Though the stone walls have long since vanished, the site’s commanding position offers spectacular views across the valley, showing exactly why this location was chosen for defence and control of the surrounding territory.

What remains today are impressive earthworks consisting of two large terraced enclosures joined by a causeway. The western enclosure stretches 170 metres from north to south and 63 metres from east to west, whilst the eastern enclosure measures 105 metres by 67 metres. When surveyed in the 1930s, antiquarian E.E. Price recorded the foundations of the castle itself; a compact square structure measuring just under 9 metres on each side, with a circular tower at its northeast corner. These foundations stood within the eastern side of what was clearly a substantial fortified complex.

The monument has been protected under a preservation order since 1940, recognising its importance to Ireland’s archaeological heritage. Though visitors today will find only grassy banks and hollows where walls once stood, the site remains evocative of the O’Byrnes’ former dominance in this mountainous region, where they resisted English expansion for centuries before their eventual defeat in the early 1600s.