Historical records from the 17th century Down Survey depict it as a prominent tower, marking this spot as a place of significance in the barony of Forth. In 1641, the castle and its surrounding lands, comprising 64 acres at Ballyrane and an additional 53 acres at nearby Ballydonskar, belonged to John Synnott, one of the local landowners documented in the Books of Survey and Distribution.

By the 19th century, the castle had passed into the hands of the Lett family, though its fortunes had clearly declined. Samuel Lewis, writing in 1837, noted that the structure stood roughly 400 metres south of Killinick’s parish church. Just a few years later, around 1840, the antiquarian John O’Donovan encountered what must have been an impressive sight; a tower still in excellent condition, soaring approximately 18 metres into the Wexford sky. His description captures one of the last glimpses of the castle whilst it remained substantially intact.

The Ordnance Survey map of 1839 marked the site as “Ballyrane Castle in ruins”, suggesting rapid deterioration had set in during those intervening years. Today, nothing remains visible above ground in what is now a working farmyard. Where once a medieval tower commanded views across the Wexford countryside, only historical records and archaeological surveys preserve the memory of Ballyrane Castle, another of Ireland’s vanished strongholds that once dotted this ancient landscape.