It is not. It is a belvedere, a purpose-built ornamental structure designed primarily to offer its occupants a view, in this case across Cork Harbour and the surrounding countryside. The confusion is understandable at a glance: the tower carries a crenellated parapet, pointed door and window openings, and the general silhouette of something much older. But the brick barrel-vault beneath the main floors and the fireplace on the ground level suggest a building made for occasional comfortable use rather than defence or habitation.

The misidentification was noted as far back as 1915, when Coleman recorded it as the remains of Coolmore Castle, a genuinely historical structure that is believed to have stood on or very close to the site of the present Coolmore House nearby. The belvedere itself measures just under five metres on each side, a compact but well-proportioned two-storey square tower raised over a vaulted basement. Belvederes of this kind were a common feature of demesne design in eighteenth and nineteenth century Ireland, when landowners shaped their estates not just for agriculture but as composed landscapes, with eye-catchers, follies, and viewing points placed to frame particular prospects. The gothick detailing here, all pointed arches and battlements, belongs to that tradition of romantic scenery-making rather than to any genuine fortification.

The tower sits within the wider Coolmore demesne, and its southward-facing door and windows are oriented to make the most of the harbour view. The fireplace on the ground floor points to it being more than a purely visual ornament from the outside; someone, at some point, expected to sit inside it and look out.