It rises to 1.9 metres, roughly the height of a tall person, and its base measures 0.68 metres by 0.55 metres, making it a solid, weighty presence in the landscape rather than a slender finger of rock. What gives it a particular character is its orientation: the long axis runs WNW to ESE, a directional alignment that recurs across prehistoric standing stones in Ireland and may reflect astronomical, territorial, or ritual concerns that are now largely beyond recovery.

The stone sits on a west-facing slope, which would have given whoever erected it a commanding view toward the setting sun. Standing stones, as a class of monument, are among the most enigmatic survivals of prehistoric Ireland. They were raised across a broad span of time, most commonly during the Bronze Age, and their purposes likely varied, serving as boundary markers, memorial stones, or focal points for ceremonies whose nature we can only guess at. The subrectangular plan of the Clashmaguire stone, meaning its cross-section is roughly rectangular with slightly irregular edges, suggests careful selection of the raw material rather than any elaborate shaping, which is typical of the tradition. It stands in pasture, as so many of these stones do, absorbed into the working agricultural landscape of Mid Cork without ceremony.