These circular enclosures, known variously as raths or ringforts, were the standard form of rural settlement in early medieval Ireland, typically consisting of a raised earthen bank and external ditch enclosing a farmstead. Tens of thousands were built, and a remarkable number have survived, often as low grassy rings that register only as a slight rise underfoot or a faint circular shadow in aerial photographs.

The rath at Tullaroe is one of countless such sites scattered across Clare, a county whose limestone terrain and long history of small-scale farming made it particularly suited to this kind of enclosed settlement. Most raths date to the period between roughly the sixth and twelfth centuries, and would have sheltered a single family and their livestock within a defended enclosure. The earthen bank, sometimes topped with a wooden palisade, was less about military defence and more about marking territory, keeping animals in, and projecting a degree of social status. In parts of Clare, these sites cluster thickly enough to suggest a densely farmed early medieval countryside, each enclosure the centre of its own modest world.