What makes it worth a second look is the fact that it preserves not one but two concentric banks, separated by a fosse, which is simply a defensive ditch cut between them. That double-bank arrangement marks this out as a more elaborate example of its type, likely reflecting the status or resources of whoever built it.

The ringfort, known in Irish as a rath when constructed from earth rather than stone, was the standard settlement enclosure of early medieval Ireland, broadly from the fifth to the twelfth century. Farmers, petty lords, and local chieftains enclosed their homes and livestock within a raised bank and ditch, the scale and complexity of the defences often signalling something about the occupant's standing in the local hierarchy. At Ballyfireen, the inner bank reaches a maximum height of 2.8 metres, while the outer bank is slightly taller at 3.1 metres, and the whole enclosure measures approximately 34 metres north to south and 32 metres east to west. A gap in the bank to the southeast most likely marks the original entrance, a common feature in ringforts of this kind, where the opening was oriented to take advantage of light or to face a particular approach route across the surrounding land.