What remains today is primarily the southern wall of what was once a substantial rectangular building, rising to about six metres in height and stretching eleven metres in length. The castle sits within an intriguing earthwork feature; a circular enclosure that may have originally been a ringfort, with a curious triangular extension on its southeastern side. Historical maps from the 17th to 19th centuries show the castle’s evolution from a tower house structure to its current ruined state, with the 1837 Ordnance Survey depicting it as a large building on the northern edge of its defensive earthworks.

The surviving architecture tells the story of a 16th or 17th century fortified house, built from roughly coursed limestone boulders bound with mortar. The southern wall, still three storeys high in places, features two large round-headed windows at first floor level with internal splays and traces of plaster, whilst at ground level there’s evidence of a partly blocked opening. The interior reveals interesting details about the building’s construction; the eastern end drops nearly two metres below the rest of the ground floor, possibly indicating a cellar, whilst a narrow ledge along the wall marks where wooden joists once supported the first floor. The walls themselves narrow at this level, a common medieval building technique that provided both structural stability and more living space on upper floors.

The castle’s history is deeply intertwined with the McGeoghegan clan, who controlled this part of Westmeath for centuries. Local records tell of Melaghlin, Lord of Kenaleagh, who met his end here in 1478, murdered within these very walls. The last known occupant was Connla Bui Geoghegan, after whom the castle gradually fell into disrepair. Today, visitors can still trace the outline of the D-shaped bawn platform, roughly 28 metres across, which once provided additional defensive capabilities to this rural stronghold. Though much reduced from its former glory, Laragh Castle remains an evocative reminder of the turbulent medieval period when such fortified houses dotted the Irish landscape, serving as both homes and defensive positions for the Gaelic nobility.