The site first appeared on maps in 1840 as ‘Ireton’s Castle’, though no trace of any fortification was visible even then. When the Ordnance Survey returned in 1905, they found the windmill that stands today, its stone walls showing no evidence of recycled castle masonry. The transformation from castle to windmill sometime between those survey years raises questions about what exactly stood here during the turbulent 17th century.

The mystery deepens when considering another fortress nearby; Derry Castle, located to the south-west, which confusingly also became known as Ireton’s Castle on the 1905 maps. This name swap has led historians to propose two theories. Perhaps the windmill genuinely sits atop the foundations of a long-vanished castle associated with Henry Ireton, Oliver Cromwell’s son-in-law who led Parliamentary forces through Ireland in the 1650s. Alternatively, there may have only ever been one castle in this area, the one originally called Derry Castle, which Ireton possibly refortified during his campaigns, leading to the name change that later confused mapmakers.

Today, visitors to the windmill will find themselves standing at a crossroads of Irish history, where the practical needs of 19th-century agriculture literally built upon centuries of conflict and conquest. The commanding views from this elevated position explain why it would have attracted both military fortification and later, the practical placement of a windmill to catch the prevailing winds. Whether Ireton’s men ever walked these grounds or whether the name simply migrated across the landscape through cartographic error remains one of those delightful uncertainties that make Irish local history so compelling.