Built sometime in the 15th or 16th century, this four-storey structure represents the type of fortified residence that once dotted the Irish landscape, serving as both home and stronghold for local Gaelic and Anglo-Norman families. The castle’s relatively small footprint and simple rectangular plan are typical of tower houses from this period, when such buildings provided security whilst demonstrating their owners’ status in a frequently turbulent political landscape.

The castle’s construction features reveal much about medieval building techniques in the west of Ireland. Its walls, built from locally quarried limestone, measure approximately three feet thick at the base, tapering slightly as they rise. The original entrance was likely located at first-floor level, accessible only by a removable wooden ladder; a defensive feature common to tower houses that made forced entry considerably more difficult. Inside, the floors would have been divided by wooden joists, now long since rotted away, leaving only the stone joist holes in the walls as evidence of their existence. The narrow window openings, some featuring simple stone seats, allowed defenders to observe and fire upon attackers whilst remaining relatively protected.

Though now roofless and partially ruined, Lavallyconor Castle retains enough of its structure to give visitors a genuine sense of life in late medieval Ireland. The surviving features include a spiral staircase built into the thickness of one corner wall, murder holes above what was once the main entrance, and the remnants of a bawn wall that would have enclosed a courtyard for livestock and storage. Local tradition suggests the castle may have connections to the O’Shaughnessy clan, who held considerable power in this region during the medieval period, though documentary evidence remains elusive. Today, the castle stands on private farmland, a weathered sentinel overlooking fields that have been cultivated for centuries.