Located behind a crumbling farmyard at a T junction in County Dublin, the castle’s exact site has proven remarkably elusive to archaeologists and historians alike. The 1838 Ordnance Survey map confidently marks ‘Site of Castle’ just south of the roadside farm buildings, placing it roughly in the centre of what is now a farmyard. The OS Name Book for Santry parish adds a tantalising detail, noting that ‘the offices and out-houses stand on the site of Castle which formerly fronted the road’. Yet despite these historical breadcrumbs, no trace of the castle remains visible at ground level today.

Archaeological investigations in 1999 and 2005 sought to uncover evidence of the medieval structure, but the results proved frustratingly inconclusive. Test excavations and monitoring work revealed that when farm buildings were constructed across the one-acre site in the mid-20th century, the builders had significantly reduced the ground level, potentially destroying any archaeological remains in the process. Beneath the shed foundations, archaeologists found only boulder clay; no definitive traces of Meakstown Castle’s walls, foundations, or associated artefacts.

The mystery deepens when considering John Rocque’s 1760 map, which shows no buildings whatsoever at the supposed castle location. This absence has led some researchers to suggest that the true site might be Meakstown House, situated on the northern side of St Margaret’s Road, immediately north of the farmyard. Whether the castle was completely demolished by the 18th century, or whether historians have been searching in the wrong spot all along, remains an open question. What is certain is that Meakstown Castle, once presumably a notable landmark fronting the road, has vanished so thoroughly that even its exact location has become a matter of scholarly debate.