Excavation revealed the remains of a large rectangular stone building to the east of the castle, complete with a chimney set into its eastern wall. That chimney detail matters: it points to a substantial, permanently occupied structure rather than a simple storage building or outbuilding. And crucially, it pre-dated the castle itself.

The discovery was recorded by Simpson in 1996, and the sequence of occupation it implies is worth pausing over. Whatever the castle's own history, something came before it on this ground, something solid enough to be built in stone, large enough to be considered a significant structure, and domestic enough to require a hearth. The castle, when it eventually rose, did so in the shadow of an earlier establishment whose occupants and precise date remain unrecorded in the available notes. Archaeological investigations of this kind often produce this particular frustration and fascination in equal measure: the physical evidence is clear, the human story behind it is not.

The site sits within the broader Ballyowen area on the western fringes of Dublin, a zone that has seen considerable development pressure over the decades. Anyone with an interest in the archaeology should approach with realistic expectations. The remains are not presented as a visitor attraction, and the nature of what survives above ground is limited. The records compiled by Geraldine Stout, uploaded to the Historic Environment Viewer system in August 2011 and drawing on Simpson's 1996 findings, remain the most accessible point of entry for anyone wanting to understand what was found here and what it might mean in the context of the area's layered settlement history.