Two, possibly three, of these ponds survive, separated from one another by low earthen banks or causeways, and fed by water drawn from a well just outside the garden wall to the west. It is a quietly functional arrangement, and that is precisely what makes it interesting: not ornamental, not ceremonial, but a piece of domestic infrastructure for keeping live fish close to the kitchen.

Fish ponds of this kind, sometimes called stew ponds, were a feature of prosperous medieval and early modern households across Europe, including Ireland. They allowed fresh fish to be held alive and drawn on as needed, which was particularly valuable during the many fasting days observed in Catholic practice, when meat was forbidden. The ponds here sit within a large walled garden associated with Leamaneh Castle, the substantial tower house and later mansion in the Burren that is closely connected with the O'Brien family. The most westerly of the ponds is the best preserved, measuring around ten metres across at the top, slightly narrower at the base, and between 0.7 and 1.3 metres deep. The ponds vary considerably in length, from roughly 50 metres to as much as 175 metres, suggesting they were built to hold a meaningful quantity of fish rather than to serve a merely token purpose.