Built around 1453 by the Mac Richard Butler family, this fortress once formed the centrepiece of medieval Thurles alongside an earlier 12th century Anglo-Norman motte castle that stood just 35 metres to the north. Today, the castle finds itself somewhat hemmed in by modern buildings, with houses fronting Parnell Street and West Gate Street, though its imposing presence still dominates the surrounding townscape.

The tower house originally stood within a bawn, a fortified courtyard defended by stone walls with angle towers and accessed through a gateway. During the Civil Survey of 1654;6, the complex was described as 'a faire house wherein the Lady of Thurles liveth with a castle and severall Turrets upon the Bawne', with James Earl of Ormond and Elizabeth Lady Viscountess Dowager of Thurles listed as its proprietors in 1640. The castle saw considerable action during the civil war of 1641;53, when it was strongly garrisoned before being taken and demolished by Parliamentary forces, after which it fell into decay.

Though much of the bawn has been levelled over the centuries, with the north wall demolished in recent years, fragments of this once formidable defensive structure remain. A section of the bawn wall that would have joined the tower house near its southwest angle still shows traces of a wall-walk, whilst another portion to the north preserves the remains of a bartizan. Tie stones on the western face of the tower house suggest a 17th century house was later constructed against it, though the building itself has long since vanished. An 18th century drawing by John James Barralet captures the bawn's entrance gate with its flanking towers, offering a glimpse of the castle's former grandeur when it served as one of the most significant strongholds in medieval Tipperary.