A rath, sometimes called a ringfort, is a circular or oval enclosure defined by an earthen bank and ditch, typically associated with early medieval settlement in Ireland. That a dwelling was built inside one suggests a layering of occupation, one community making use of the boundaries and perhaps the shelter of a structure that already existed when they arrived.

The house itself survives as a roughly sub-rectangular outline, measuring approximately 10.1 metres on its north-west to south-east axis and 8.8 metres across, defined by a drystone wall that is now largely grassed over and considerably worn down. Drystone construction, in which stones are fitted together without mortar, was a common technique across many periods of Irish building, which makes dating this structure difficult; no date has been firmly established. More intriguing still is a rubble-filled depression visible within the interior. This feature may indicate the presence of a souterrain, an underground stone-lined passage or chamber often associated with early medieval settlements, used variously for storage, refuge, or ventilation of dairy produce. Whether this one was ever fully constructed or has simply collapsed inward over centuries is not yet known.