The well-preserved four-storey tower sits within a large, irregularly shaped bawn that measures nearly 60 metres across in both directions. This was once the stronghold of Brian Ua Cinneide Fionn, Chieftain of Ormond, who held the castle until his death in 1588. By the time of the Civil Survey in 1654–6, the castle was already described as ‘old ruined’ with ‘the walls onely standing’, though Donogh Kenedy was still listed as its proprietor in 1640.

The defensive bawn walls reveal fascinating architectural details that speak to both the castle’s military purpose and daily life within its walls. The main entrance consists of a large round-arched gateway with punch-dressed limestone jambs at the centre of the south wall, with evidence suggesting a gatehouse once stood here. A secondary entrance on the west wall features a two-centred doorway with hanging-eyes for a two-part swing door, leading to a paved walkway that extends three metres westward. The walls also show remnants of defensive features including a destroyed machicolation supported by five double corbels on the west wall, and the footings of a small circular tower that once projected from the south wall.

The complex extends beyond just the tower and bawn; immediately south lies a watermill, with a deserted settlement beyond that, whilst a later seventeenth and eighteenth-century house was built directly onto the east wall of the bawn. Evidence of domestic arrangements can be found in the northwest corner, where a large wall niche, gun loop, and an unusual slop-stone suggest an internal lean-to structure existed here. Rather intriguingly, the slop-stone appears to have been designed not for waste removal but to channel rainwater into the structure, creating a practical water storage facility for the castle’s inhabitants.