What remains today is merely a fragment of the four-storey tower's west corner, a shadow of its former prominence when it could be seen from every direction. Just 120 metres to the south-southeast lie the ruins of Killeedy Church, its graveyard, and St Ida's Well, forming a cluster of medieval sites that speak to the area's long history.

The castle's origins stretch back to at least 1299, when it formed part of the Manor of Killyde owned by Thomas an Appagh and his descendants, the Earls of Desmond. Through the centuries, ownership passed through various hands; the Civil Survey of 1655 recorded Sir Edmund FitzGerald as the owner in 1640, noting both the old castle and church on his lands. Local tradition, recorded in 1840, romantically attributes the castle's construction to King John, though this claim lacks historical evidence. The castle changed hands multiple times through the late 16th and 17th centuries, being granted to various English settlers including A. Hungerford in 1587 and later held by the Cawne family.

The castle's current ruinous state owes much to a dramatic event in January 1988, when lightning struck the tower, causing it to collapse so violently that fragments were found 110 yards away. Before this catastrophic strike, the tower had already been described as "utterly defaced" by antiquarian Thomas Johnson Westropp in the early 1900s, though it still maintained its impressive height. The ditched platform to the northeast may contain vaults, suggesting the site once held more extensive structures than what meets the eye today.