This is a rath, the Irish term for a ringfort, the most common archaeological monument type in Ireland. Thousands were built, mostly during the early medieval period, as enclosed farmsteads for single family groups, their earthen banks and ditches marking out both living space and a degree of social status. This one measures approximately 29 metres east to west and 27 metres north to south, making it a fairly typical example in terms of scale.

What gives it a certain quiet interest is the way it has been adapted to its terrain and then adapted again over the centuries. Because the ground slopes, the interior has been deliberately raised on the southern side to create a level platform within the enclosure, a practical solution that required considerable earthmoving and gives the site a slightly uneven profile when seen from outside. The enclosing bank survives to an internal height of around 0.7 metres along the southern to east-south-east arc, while elsewhere a scarp, essentially a cut into the slope rather than a built-up bank, rises to about 2 metres. At some later point, a stone field boundary was laid along the top of the bank from south-south-west to north-north-west, neatly reusing the old earthwork as a ready-made field division. A narrow gap of roughly one metre to the north-north-west may represent an original entrance or a later opening made for livestock. The interior is still used for grazing, which means the monument has remained part of the working landscape rather than being fenced off or forgotten.