This tower house castle once stood prominently enough to be depicted on 17th century maps, including the Down Survey map of Clanwilliam Barony and the parish map of Luddenbeg. Though the physical structure may be gone, historical records paint a vivid picture of its significance in County Limerick’s past.

The castle’s ownership timeline reveals the political upheavals of the era. In 1619, Edmund Comyn held Whitestown Castle, passing it to his son William upon his death. By 1655, the property, then referred to as Whitestown alias Ballyneety Castle in Luddenbeg, was held by Lawrence Comyn. The Civil Survey of 1654-56 identifies Lawrence as an Irish Papist, a designation that would have marked him as politically vulnerable during this period. Just over a decade later, in 1666, the castle passed to the Duke of York, before eventually coming into the possession of Alderman Robert Twigg in 1702.

These ownership changes reflect the broader patterns of land transfer in 17th century Ireland, particularly the displacement of Catholic landowners following the Cromwellian conquest. The Comyn family’s tenure at Ballyneety ended as part of the widespread confiscations that saw Irish Catholic estates redistributed to Protestant settlers and Crown supporters. Today, while the castle itself may have vanished from the landscape, its documented history offers a window into the complex social and political transformations that shaped modern Ireland.