The site consists of limestone rubble wall foundations forming a rectangular structure measuring 14 metres north to south and 22 metres east to west. These walls, averaging 1.5 metres thick and standing just half a metre high today, are all that remain of what was once a formidable defensive structure. A corner tower still clings to the northwest angle of the building, complete with evidence of a garderobe chute; a medieval toilet that would have projected waste outside the castle walls.

The castle sits atop a rectangular earthwork platform, surrounded by a substantial moat that’s 2 metres wide and 3 metres deep. Access to the castle was via a causewayed entrance on the south side, measuring 2.5 metres across, which bridges the defensive moat. There’s slight evidence of an external bank on the eastern side, suggesting additional defensive earthworks once existed. The entire complex may have been built upon an even earlier medieval ringwork or ringfort, showing how this strategic location was valued across different periods.

Local tradition holds that this was the site of Hugh de Lacy’s castle, one of the most powerful Norman lords in 12th century Ireland. De Lacy was granted the lordship of Meath by King Henry II and played a crucial role in the Norman conquest of Ireland before his assassination in 1186. Whilst the connection to de Lacy remains part of local folklore rather than confirmed historical fact, the castle’s design certainly fits the pattern of Norman fortifications built across Ireland during this turbulent period of conquest and colonisation.