These structures, known variously as raths or ringforts, were the most common form of rural settlement in early medieval Ireland, typically dating from around the fifth to the twelfth century. A rath is essentially a circular enclosure defined by one or more banks and ditches, built from the earth thrown up during excavation, and used to protect a farmstead, its family, and its livestock. Tens of thousands of them survive across the country in varying states of preservation, and the one at Derrylea is among the less documented examples.

Because the available record for this particular site is minimal, much about Derrylea's ringfort remains unconfirmed, including its precise dimensions, its number of enclosing banks, and any finds or features that may have been identified in or around it. What can be said is that the townland name itself is worth noting: Derrylea derives from the Irish Doire Liath, meaning the grey oak wood, suggesting a landscape that was once considerably more wooded than it appears today. Clare's archaeology is dense with ringforts, many of them concentrated across the county's drumlin country and limestone plains, and the presence of one at Derrylea fits the broader pattern of dispersed early medieval settlement that characterised this part of Munster.