The original medieval stronghold was transformed into a grand house sometime before 1750, likely commissioned by the 4th Earl of Inchiquin according to historian Mark Bence-Jones. This Georgian mansion stood for nearly two centuries before meeting its end in 1944, when demolition crews reduced it to rubble and memory.

The site at Rostellan tells a familiar Irish story of medieval fortifications giving way to comfortable country houses as the need for defence diminished. The Fitzgeralds, one of Cork’s most influential Norman families, would have originally built their castle here to control this strategic position overlooking the harbour. When the 4th Earl of Inchiquin acquired the property, he clearly saw more value in fashionable Georgian architecture than in maintaining ancient battlements.

Today, visitors to this quiet spot might struggle to imagine either the medieval castle or the elegant house that followed it. The landscape has reclaimed what was once a symbol of power and prestige, leaving only historical records to tell us what stood here. The Archaeological Inventory of County Cork, published in 1994, preserves these details for future generations; a reminder that even the grandest buildings can vanish completely, leaving barely a trace on the land they once dominated.