This site, which locals called the ‘castle field’ throughout the 19th century, was documented by the antiquarian John O’Donovan, though today no visible traces of any castle remain above ground. The field’s intriguing name hints at a structure that has long since vanished, leaving only oral tradition and historical records to tell its story.

The area’s documented history stretches back to at least 1640, when Maurice Power held the land at Adamstown. Just over a decade later, the Down Survey map of 1655-6 recorded a thatched stone house on the site, providing one of the few tangible historical references to buildings that once stood here. This survey, commissioned by Oliver Cromwell to redistribute Irish lands, offers a valuable snapshot of mid-17th century Kilmeaden parish, capturing details of structures that would otherwise be lost to time.

While the castle itself remains elusive, with no archaeological evidence visible at ground level, the persistence of its name in local memory speaks to the enduring power of place names in preserving history. Whether the ‘castle’ was actually a fortified structure, a grand house that locals elevated in their collective memory, or perhaps confused with the documented thatched stone house, the site continues to intrigue those interested in Waterford’s hidden past. The Archaeological Inventory of County Waterford has catalogued this absence as carefully as any standing monument, recognising that what has disappeared can be just as significant as what remains.