Icehouses were a feature of prosperous Irish estates from the seventeenth century onward, typically built underground or into natural slopes to exploit the earth's insulating properties. Ice, harvested from frozen ponds or rivers during winter, would be packed inside and could last well into summer, supplying the house with a reliable source of cold for food preservation and the preparation of chilled desserts.

This particular example sits roughly thirty-five metres north of Ballygiblin House, cut directly into the quarry's rock face rather than constructed as a freestanding structure, which made the surrounding stone itself part of the insulation. It is a compact space, approximately two metres deep and two metres square, enclosed by a wall standing around two metres high. The decision to site it within an existing quarry was a practical one; the quarry would already have been a feature of the demesne, and cutting into its exposed limestone face avoided the labour of excavating fresh ground while providing naturally cool, stable conditions year-round.

The icehouse is no longer accessible, having been overtaken by dense overgrowth, and what can be known about its current condition comes from the account of the landowner rather than direct inspection. That inaccessibility is, in its way, part of the story: these quietly functional structures, never intended to be ornamental, slipped easily out of use once mechanical refrigeration arrived and were rarely maintained afterward. Many survive only because the same combination of stone and vegetation that hides them also protects them.