This is not unusual in itself, since rural Ireland once had thousands of these structures, but the survival here is notably complete, and the dimensions give a clear sense of how such a kiln actually functioned.

A lime kiln is a structure in which limestone was burned at high temperature to produce quicklime, used to treat acidic agricultural soils and to make mortar. The Dower example is fronted by an arched recess measuring two metres high, three metres wide, and just over two metres deep, wide enough for a worker to enter and rake out the burnt material. Behind this sits a stone-lined funnel, nearly two metres in diameter, into which the limestone and fuel were loaded from above in alternating layers. The overall front of the structure stretches to just over six metres. A lean-to structure covers the area in front of the arched recess, offering some protection to the draw hole where the finished lime was extracted. Using the rock outcrop as a rear wall was a practical decision: it provided structural support, reduced the amount of masonry needed, and the natural mass helped retain heat during the burning process.