The castle appears in the Desmond Roll of 1582, a survey documenting properties across Munster, where it was recorded under the ownership of Richard Nashe. The Nash family’s presence in this area stretched back centuries; they likely descended from W. de Naas, who received a grant for nearby Carnkital Castle in 1199, and had established themselves around Askeaton by at least 1346.

The castle’s ownership tells a story of changing fortunes in Irish history. After Richard Nashe held it in 1582, it appeared on maps in 1590, marked simply as Castle Nash. By 1620, M. Berkeley had settled the property on his wife, according to records from the Inquisition Chancery. The tumultuous period following Cromwell’s invasion saw the castle pass to Lord Brohill and Mrs. Crofton by 1655, as noted in the Civil Survey of that year.

Today, visitors to Ballynash will find only an empty field where this castle once stood, a reminder of how completely time and history can erase even substantial stone fortifications. The site represents one of countless lost castles across Ireland; structures that once served as symbols of power and control, now existing only in historical documents and local memory. The research of antiquarian Thomas Johnson Westropp in the early 1900s preserved what little we know of Ballynash Castle, ensuring its story wasn’t entirely lost to time.