That detail alone sets this site apart from the usual image of an ancient earthwork as a quietly atmospheric place in the countryside. The cars are a reminder that these monuments, however old, exist in a working landscape where farmers and landowners make practical decisions about the land around them.

A rath is a ringfort built from earth rather than stone, typically a raised circular enclosure surrounded by one or more earthen banks and ditches, used as a farmstead or high-status dwelling during the early medieval period in Ireland, roughly between the fifth and twelfth centuries. This one at Currabwee sits on a natural spur and encloses a roughly circular area measuring 26.8 metres north to south and 26.2 metres east to west. The surrounding earthen bank rises to 2.8 metres in height, which is a substantial surviving profile. An entrance on the north-north-west side, about 4.6 metres wide, may be original to the monument. Two breaks in the bank to the south-east and south are more recent, made by modern machinery, presumably to allow vehicle access to the interior, which has since served as a dump for old cars. The siting of the rath on a natural spur overlooking the lake is typical of early medieval practice, favouring elevated ground with good visibility across the surrounding terrain.