Once home to Sir Henry Hartstonge and later his widow, these weathered walls sit just west of the town bridge, near the local church. The castle’s remains, measuring roughly 10.6 metres north to south and 5.6 metres east to west, reveal the bones of what was once a formidable structure. Its eastern doorway, now barely 1.47 metres high due to accumulated stonework, leads into a ground floor topped by a stone arch that springs directly from the ground level. The walls, which once stood much taller, now reach only about 7.3 metres at their highest point, with most sections barely clearing the first arch.

By 1840, when these measurements were carefully recorded, the castle had already fallen into considerable disrepair, with a poor local family making their home in the ground floor ruins. Just northeast of the castle stands another structure known simply as the Court, a rectangular building stretching 8.4 metres in length, which by that time had been modified with a thatched straw roof and its original features sealed with stonework. The transformation of these once grand buildings into humble dwellings tells a familiar story of Ireland’s changing fortunes.

Historical records from the 1654-56 Civil Survey reveal that the four daughters of Sir Thomas Standish inherited quite an estate in Bruff, including not just the castle but also a bawn (fortified enclosure), an orchard, and both tucking and grist mills, along with fishing weirs that were already falling apart by that time. This glimpse into the property’s earlier days shows Bruff Castle was once at the heart of a thriving agricultural and industrial complex, making use of its riverside location for both defence and commerce.