Ringforts, known in Irish as raths, were the most common form of settlement in early medieval Ireland, typically serving as enclosed farmsteads protected by earthen banks and ditches. Most Irish people pass one without realising it; they have a way of blending into the agricultural landscape over the centuries until they look merely like an odd rise in the ground.

This particular example measures 31 metres north to south and 31 metres east to west, making it a reasonably substantial specimen. It is enclosed by two concentric earthen banks with a fosse, or ditch, running between them. The inner bank stands 0.6 metres high, while the outer bank rises to 1.2 metres on its exterior face; the fosse between them reaches a depth of 1.7 metres, still well defined despite the passage of time. On the eastern side, the fosse is interrupted by an entrance 2.1 metres wide, complete with a causeway crossing the ditch. That the entrance faces east is not unusual for ringforts, as east-facing openings were common, though the reasons remain a matter of scholarly discussion. The causeway detail is a small but telling sign of the original inhabitants' practical concern for daily movement in and out of the enclosure.