Carved into it is a rampant lion enclosed within a decorative moulding, and, according to local report, there was once a motto positioned above it. That motto is now gone, or at least no longer legible, which leaves the plaque in an quietly unresolved state: a heraldic statement without its full text, belonging to a building whose history has not been neatly packaged for the curious.

Armorial plaques of this kind were typically used to mark ownership, civic affiliation, or the status of a particular family or institution. A rampant lion, one of the most common charges in European heraldry, depicted an animal rearing up on its hind legs, and appears across Irish and British coats of arms in enormous variety. Without the motto, pinning down whose arms these were becomes considerably harder. The building itself is recorded under the Sites and Monuments Register reference DU018-027004, and sits at number 39 Main Street. The record was compiled by Geraldine Stout and Margaret Keane, and uploaded in February 2018, suggesting the plaque had attracted enough scholarly attention to warrant formal documentation, even if the fuller story behind it remains elusive.

Chapelizod sits just west of Dublin city along the Liffey, and Main Street retains a village character despite the suburban sprawl around it. Number 39 is on the north side of the street, so the tablet faces outward toward passing foot traffic, though it requires a deliberate pause to take in properly. Visitors should look for the carved stone set into the wall at roughly eye level, though the condition of the moulding and any surviving detail of the lion's rendering is worth examining closely. Given that the motto is reported rather than confirmed as surviving, it is worth looking carefully to see whether any trace of lettering remains above the lion, weathered rather than entirely absent.