The Civil Survey of 1654-6 reveals that Michell Rochford held 160 acres here in 1640, which included what was already described as ‘an Ould Ruinated Castle’. Rochford was clearly a substantial landowner in the parish; alongside Carranstown, he possessed 60 acres at Robinstown, 113 acres at Clonegrany, and 70 acres at Killballiver, whilst sharing 710 acres at Culronan with three other proprietors.

By the time the Ordnance Survey mapped the area in 1836, Carranstown Castle appeared only as the southwest corner of a building, suggesting considerable deterioration over the intervening centuries. Today, visitors to this level landscape will find something quite different from what either survey recorded. The castle site has transformed into a substantial, grass-covered cairn measuring approximately 35 metres east to west and 30 metres north to south, rising to about 1.5 metres in height. Its subcircular form hints at centuries of collapse and accumulation of stone debris from the original structure.

The surrounding field contains old drainage ditches, evidence of agricultural improvements that likely date from when the land was actively farmed. This quiet corner of Meath preserves layers of history; from medieval fortification to 17th-century ruin, and finally to the earthwork that remains today, each phase telling part of the story of how Ireland’s landscape has changed through conquest, abandonment, and agricultural transformation.