The first castle was build on the grounds of Farney in 1185 and was a wooden structure as all other castles of those days. The existing round tower was erected in 1495 by Thomas Butler of the infamous Butler family, the 7th Earl of Ormond. The Butler family were present and claimed Farney castle for five hundred years, but in 1536 the castle was overtaken by King Henry VIII of England. He returned Farney Castle to the Butlers in 1538 when he married Anne Boleyn who was the daughter of James, 3rd Earl of Ormond, the King eventually had her excited as you know. Consequently the castle was occupied for brief periods of time by two other English members of the royal family namely King James 1st from 1617 - 1625, and King George 1st from 1716 -1721.

So today the castle features an exquisitely well preserved round tower built in 1495, even today it is the only round tower castle that is used as a family dwelling.

The history of Irish Castles includes one of the more famous of the many Castles in Ireland, Farney Castle which dates back to 1185.

In 1649 Cromwell landed in Ireland and shortly after 1650 a Cromwellian soldier named Hulett overtook the castle and its surrounding lands. Then in 1660 Captain William Armstrong, a Cavalier who supported the Stuarts and who fought against Cromwell, obtained the castle and lands, and there were Armstrong�s in Farney Castle for the next 200 years. William Armstrong came from a high-class Scottish Border country family which was prominent in the sixteenth century for its ferocity, and in 1677 he purchased a great deal of large estates in the area including Holy Cross Abbey and Holy Cross lands.