Known as Ballydoogan Castle, or ‘Bealladugane’ as it appeared in 1574 records, the structure was then in the possession of one Tege Mc Gill patrick. The castle stood for centuries, still marked on the 1838 Ordnance Survey map, though by the third edition in 1933 it had been demolished and reduced to merely ‘Site of’ on official documentation.

A photograph from around 1892 captures the castle in its final years, revealing a ruined tower that rose at least three storeys high. When archaeologists from the Galway Survey first examined the site in 1983, they discovered sections of original walling incorporated into later farm buildings; one wall measuring 1.95 metres in length and 2.9 metres high, complete with a distinctive base batter. More recent investigations in 2017 uncovered additional foundations during trench digging behind Ballydoogan House, suggesting these remnants likely formed part of the castle’s bawn wall rather than the tower house itself.

Today, visitors can spot various architectural fragments scattered about the property that hint at the castle’s former grandeur. An arch stone from a doorway and the top of an ogee window head now rest against a garden wall, whilst dressed stones have been pragmatically recycled into the construction of outhouses. Even massive timber beams, likely original to the tower house, have found new life as joists in a western outhouse. These repurposed elements serve as tangible links to medieval Galway, when tower houses like Ballydoogan dominated the landscape and provided both residence and defence for local landowners.