A fulacht fia is, in essence, a prehistoric cooking site, typically consisting of a trough dug into the ground, a nearby hearth, and a mound of fire-cracked stone left over from repeated use. The method involved heating stones in a fire and dropping them into a water-filled trough to bring it to a boil, a slow but effective process that left behind distinctive spreads of burnt and shattered rock. What makes Ballyquirk quietly curious is the contradiction built into its location: the surrounding ground is prone to waterlogging, which would have made the site well-suited to its purpose, yet it occupies a hilltop position that commands broad, open views rather than the sheltered hollows where such sites are more typically found.

The site came to light in 2008, when excavation was carried out ahead of the N9/N10 road scheme running between Kilcullen and Waterford. Archaeologists uncovered three rectangular troughs containing burnt stone and burnt clay, one of which extended beyond the boundary of the road works to the north-west, suggesting the site originally spread further than could be fully investigated. To the south, the excavation revealed two possible hut shelters alongside numerous pits, post-holes, and stake-holes, pointing to a more complex pattern of activity than a simple cooking area might imply. The site had, however, suffered considerable damage from modern field clearance before archaeologists arrived, which limits what can now be said with confidence about its original extent and character.