This heavily overgrown site, once the principal stronghold of the Mac Auliffe family, now requires a keen eye to discern its original features amongst the tangled vegetation. What remains visible is a rectangular enclosed area measuring approximately 14 metres north to south, bounded by low earthen and stone banks that have weathered centuries of abandonment.

The castle’s defensive architecture can still be traced through careful observation. A fosse, or defensive ditch, measuring 3.1 metres deep and 15 metres wide, surrounds the northern, southern, and western sides of the enclosure; a formidable barrier that would have deterred medieval attackers. On the western side, a mound of rubble rising to 1.85 metres likely represents the collapsed remains of the castle’s main structures, though determining the original layout requires considerable imagination given the site’s current state.

The Mac Auliffes, who made this castle their seat of power, were a significant clan in medieval Cork, and this fortress served as the centre of their territorial control. Today, the site offers visitors willing to navigate the rough pasture and overgrowth a tangible connection to Ireland’s clan-based medieval society, where such fortified residences dotted the landscape as symbols of local authority and refuges in turbulent times.