What makes it worth a second look is a subtle inconsistency on its eastern side: at some point, stone walling was substituted for the original earthen bank, suggesting either repair or a practical adaptation by whoever tended the land in the centuries after the fort was first built. There is also a gap of around 3.5 metres to the north, most likely the original entrance.

This is a rath, the most common type of ringfort found across Ireland, typically dating to the early medieval period, roughly 500 to 1000 AD. Ringforts were enclosed farmsteads rather than military fortifications, the bank and ditch combination serving to keep livestock in and predators or opportunistic raiders out, while signalling something of the status of the family who lived within. The Trawlebane example measures approximately 25 metres north to south and 27 metres east to west, which falls within the typical range for a single-family enclosure of this kind. The patchwork of earth and stone on the eastern arc points to a long working life, with the structure being maintained and modified as local materials and needs dictated.