They appear as low, horseshoe-shaped mounds, typically found near water, and represent the remains of ancient cooking sites, though some researchers have proposed they also served as brewing vessels, sweat lodges, or dyeing troughs. The basic principle is consistent: a trough was dug into the ground, lined with wood or stone, and filled with water. Stones were heated in a nearby fire and dropped into the water to bring it to the boil. Over time, the cracked and shattered stones accumulated into the characteristic mound that survives today. Bronze Age in date for the most part, these sites are so common across Ireland that they have sometimes been described as the most frequently recorded monument type in the country, yet individually they receive very little attention.

The example at Carrowmeer in County Clare is one such site. Clare sits within a landscape shaped by limestone geology and a long tradition of human settlement stretching back well before recorded history, and fulachtaí fia appear throughout the county in lowland and marginal ground alike. The townland name Carrowmeer derives from the Irish, likely incorporating the element ceathrú, meaning a quarter of land, a unit of Gaelic land division once used widely across Connacht and north Munster. Beyond its location within this townland, detailed information specific to this particular monument is limited at present.