These structures, typically constructed from dry-stone walling and covered with large capstones, were dug into the earth or cut into rock, and are thought to have served a combination of purposes: cool storage for food, places of refuge during raids, and possibly as components of nearby settlement complexes. The name Cloghastookeen itself has the feel of a place long settled, the kind of quiet rural townland where the landscape carries older meanings just below the surface, sometimes quite literally.

Souterrains of this kind are closely associated with ringforts and early ecclesiastical sites across Ireland, and their construction represents a considerable investment of communal labour. Some are simple single passages; others branch into multiple chambers with carefully contrived low entrances designed to slow or obstruct an intruder. The specific details of the Cloghastookeen example, its dimensions, its current condition, whether it remains accessible or has partially collapsed, are not presently in the public record. It is recorded as a monument, which means its existence has been noted and it carries some degree of formal protection, but the particulars await fuller documentation.