The castle, which once commanded this elevated position, was documented in the Civil Survey of 1654-6 as already lying in ruins, described alongside its barbican as belonging to one William Oge Ryan. The survey paints a picture of desolation; the lands were noted as being interspersed with wood and old oak trees, but by then had become “totally waste”.

For nearly two centuries after that survey, some remnants of the castle continued to stand, weathering the passage of time amongst the wooded landscape. However, in 1839, a local landowner named Mr Hanrahan made the decision to completely demolish what remained of the structure. The Ordnance Survey field name books, compiled just a year later in 1840, recorded this final act of destruction with stark simplicity, noting that Hanrahan had “razed it to the ground” and that nothing remained except “a bank of rubbish”.

Today, visitors to Derryleigh will find no visible traces of the castle at ground level; the medieval fortress that once stood here has been entirely erased from the landscape. The site serves as a poignant reminder of Ireland’s lost architectural heritage, where centuries of history can vanish not through warfare or natural disaster, but through deliberate demolition in more recent times. The castle’s story, preserved only in historical documents, speaks to the countless similar structures across Ireland that have disappeared without trace, taking their secrets with them.