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This stronghouse now stands as a picturesque ruin in the grounds of a 5 star luxury resort hotel. It is difficult to imagine the turbulent events that must have taken place here in the atmosphere of such peaceful surroundings. It was built in the mid 15c for the seneschal of the area as his seat, who was chosen by James, Earl of Ormond, governor of Imokilly. It was captured by Sir Henry Sidney in 1569, after the garrison abandoned it during the night following an exchange of cannonfire. It was then granted to Sir Walter Raleigh only to be recovered by the seneschal of the time, John FitzEdmund FitzGerald. It was attacked again in 1579 by the Earl of Ormond, who hanged John's mother outside the walls. After finally submitting in 1583, John died in Dublin Castle in 1589. During the 1640s, those violent times saw the castle captured by Lord Inchiquin, but it fell again after an attack by a raiding party led by Sir Percy Smith. In order to prevent Lord Castlehaven using it as a future base for the Confederate Irish forces, it was then set on fire. After its repair in the 1650s, it was lived in by Lord Broghill, later Earl of Orrery, until his death in 1679. It was finally abandoned after being taken by the Irish, and recaptured by the Williamites in 1690, having been badly damaged in the process.