Decoy ponds were engineered trapping systems, typically constructed from the seventeenth century onwards, designed to lure wildfowl, most often ducks, into curved netted tunnels called pipes, using trained dogs and the natural curiosity of the birds to draw them along narrowing channels until they could be caught by hand. They were practical, efficient, and surprisingly sophisticated, and their presence on a demesne usually indicated a household serious about provisioning its table.

Eyrecourt Demesne takes its name from the Eyre family, Anglo-Irish landowners who were a significant presence in County Galway from the seventeenth century. The demesne surrounding Eyrecourt Castle was laid out in the manner typical of the period, with landscaped grounds, water features, and the various practical and ornamental elements that marked a functioning landed estate. A decoy pond would have fitted naturally into this arrangement, serving both as a working food source and as a controlled feature of the wider grounds.