According to surveys from the early 19th century, the castle’s limestone foundations stood about 40 yards west of a prominent motte until around 1800, when the stones were completely removed for other construction projects. By 1840, the Ordnance Survey could find no physical trace of the structure, though its location was still marked on maps. Even earlier, a visitor in 1680 noted that whilst a neat mound remained at Pallice, the castle itself was already ancient history.

This site held remarkable significance long before any Norman fortification was built here. Known in ancient times as Grian, the location features prominently in Irish mythology and early history. Local legends speak of Princess Grian, now recognised as a banshee, and Prince Oilioll Olum. The site, also called Cnoc na gcuradh or Champion’s Hill, supposedly witnessed a battle involving High King Cormac mac Airt in 241 AD and received a visit from St. Patrick around 437 AD. The Annals first mention the place in 918, establishing its importance in documented Irish history well before the Norman arrival.

Following the Norman invasion, Grian became a strategic manor in 1216, initially granted to the Bishop of Emly before passing to Maurice Fitz Gerald in 1233, who established a fair there the following year. The castle formed part of a group of important manors alongside Adare, Croom and Wrgidy, changing hands between various Norman families including de Clare, de Valence, de Cogan and the Earls of Kildare. Despite repairs authorised in 1334, the fortress suffered destruction by Turlough O’Brien between 1285 and 1287. By the 16th century, the O’Briens controlled the area; records from 1611 describe the castle as already ruinous when Sir Edward Fisher received a grant for part of it. The structure appears to have been demolished entirely before 1680, leaving only the adjacent motte as evidence of this once significant stronghold.