The icehouse at Dysart, south of Dysart House in County Cork, is a well-preserved example of the kind of structure that once made cold storage possible on a country estate, and its construction reveals how seriously the problem was taken. It sits on top of a grass-covered mound, a placement that was entirely deliberate: the surrounding earth acted as natural insulation, keeping interior temperatures low through the warmer months.

The structure itself is circular, built from stone, and stands 3.6 metres high with a minimum internal diameter of 3.8 metres. Its walls splay outwards as they rise, reaching a diameter of 4.3 metres at the roofline, which gives the building a slightly funnel-like profile from the outside. The roof is corbelled brick, a technique in which courses of brick are laid so that each one projects slightly beyond the one below, gradually closing the circle without the need for a keystone or centring. At the apex of this corbelled dome sits an aperture measuring roughly one metre by one and a half metres, which would have allowed ice to be lowered in from above. The door faces northeast, a common orientation for icehouses since it keeps the entrance away from the warmest afternoon sun. Ice, typically harvested from frozen ponds in winter, was packed into the chamber and could remain usable well into summer, serving the household above for chilling food and drink.