The Civil Survey of 1654-6, conducted during the Cromwellian period, described Bealing as an ‘Irish papist’ who was ‘indicted of Rebellion’; labels that marked him as both Catholic and rebellious against English Protestant rule. This was a dangerous combination during an era when such designations could mean the loss of land, liberty, or life.

Today, visitors to the site would find no romantic ruins or crumbling towers to photograph. The castle has vanished entirely from the visible landscape, its location now occupied by a large commercial shed that gives no hint of the drama that once unfolded here. Yet the past hasn’t completely disappeared; aerial photography has revealed extensive cropmarks in the surrounding fields, ghostly outlines of ancient enclosures and field systems that speak to centuries of human activity on this land.

These cropmarks, catalogued as DU011-007002 in archaeological records, offer tantalising glimpses of the medieval landscape that surrounded Bealing’s castle. While the thatched fortress itself may be lost to time and development, these subtle traces in the earth remind us that Ireland’s history often lies just beneath the surface, waiting to be discovered through careful observation and modern technology. The site serves as a poignant reminder of how political and religious upheavals of the past have shaped the Irish landscape, even when the physical monuments to those times have long since disappeared.