The earthwork on the ground tells a rather different story. What survives is a D-shaped univallate ringfort, meaning a roughly circular enclosure defined by a single bank and ditch, the kind of defended farmstead that thousands of early medieval Irish families would have called home. This one sits on rising pastureland with open views in every direction, a positioning that was never accidental. The ability to see approaching visitors, or trouble, was very much part of the point.

The enclosure measures approximately 14 metres north to south and 21 metres east to west, giving it a slightly oval footprint. The bank along the northern side still stands to an exterior height of 2.2 metres, which is a considerable survival for a structure built from earth and stone without mortar. The southern bank is particularly well defined: it runs east to west for 26 metres, measures 3 metres wide at its base, and retains an internal fosse, essentially a ditch running along the inside of the bank rather than the outside, dropping 1.2 metres below the bank level and stretching 1.2 metres in width. This internal arrangement is less common than an outer ditch and adds a layer of curiosity to an already well-preserved site. The measurements and description were first recorded and published by C. Toal in the North Kerry Archaeological Survey, produced in association with FÁS and published in Dingle in 1995.