The site sits on a plateau with land sloping southwestward and a shallow ravine running east to west on its northern side, now part of rough pasture within an extensive field system that has been worked for centuries. Early Ordnance Survey maps from 1842 show it as a small circular area about 15 metres across, whilst by 1897 it appeared as a hachured mound on more detailed plans.

The castle’s history reads like a property deed passed through many hands. Known as ‘Ballemoroghee’ in 1574, it was the O’Loughlins’ stronghold before possibly passing to the Prendergast family in 1601. By 1619, the O’Briens had taken possession, beginning a long period of changing ownership that continued through the late eighteenth century. The structure appears to have begun its decline around 1781, and by 1839, when Ordnance Survey officials came to document the area, only foundations remained visible amongst the grass.

Those last traces of Ballymurphy Castle met an unceremonious end in 1983 when they were bulldozed away, erasing the final physical evidence of this medieval fortification. Today, visitors to the site would find only an unremarkable patch of pasture, though the location continues to be marked on historical maps and remembered in local records. Researchers Risteárd Ua Cróinín and Martin Breen have documented the castle’s story as part of their comprehensive survey of Clare’s castles and tower houses, ensuring that whilst the stones may be gone, the history of this O’Loughlin stronghold remains preserved.