That gentle swell, however, is the earthwork remains of a rath, the Irish term for a ringfort, a type of enclosed farmstead built during the early medieval period, roughly between the fifth and twelfth centuries, that once served as home and working compound for a farming family of some local standing. Thousands were built across Ireland, yet each survives differently, and the one at Clogh has held its shape with quiet stubbornness.

The earthwork measures approximately 35 metres on its northeast to southwest axis and 30 metres across the other way, making it a modest but reasonably complete example. The interior platform sits about 0.6 metres above the surrounding ground, and the bank that defines the western and northern perimeter still stands between 1.8 and 2.3 metres high, with a width of around 4 metres at its base. A fosse, that is, a defensive ditch, runs along the western and eastern sides, and a secondary outer bank survives along the eastern to southeastern arc, reaching 2.2 metres in height. On the southern side, a modern field boundary has taken the place of whatever original earthwork once closed the circuit there. One feature of particular interest is a 6-metre-wide ramp cut through the fosse on the eastern side, which may represent the original entrance to the enclosure. Liam Price, writing in 1949, appears to have noted an enclosure in this area, and the Clogh rath may well be the same feature he recorded.