Set in level grassland in Feagh, County Galway, the site at Lissaniska is a rath, a type of circular or subcircular earthwork enclosure built during the early medieval period, typically surrounding a farmstead or the dwelling of a local landholder. This particular example measures roughly 43 metres east to west and 41 metres north to south, making it a reasonably substantial one, though you would be forgiven for struggling to read it as such today.

The rath was originally defined by a raised bank and an external fosse, which is a ditch dug around the outside of the bank to reinforce the enclosure. The road that now cuts through from the south-east to the west has done considerable damage, and to the south of it the bank has been almost entirely levelled. What survives there is quieter and stranger than stonework: a dark band of vegetation traces the line where the fosse once ran, the soil beneath it retaining enough of its original character to feed a slightly different kind of growth above. It is the kind of evidence that requires knowing what to look for. To the north of the road, the bank and the remains of the fosse, which survives from west to north-west, are in better condition, and the subcircular outline of the original enclosure becomes legible if you take a moment to read the slight rises and dips in the ground.