The rath, roughly 55 metres in diameter, is defined by two concentric banks with a fosse, or ditch, running between them. That double-bank arrangement distinguishes it from the more common single-banked ringfort, suggesting a degree of status or an extra layer of defensive intention on the part of whoever built it. A later field wall radiates outward from the western side of the monument, the kind of detail that speaks to centuries of continuity, later farmers incorporating an ancient landmark into their own land management without quite erasing it.

Ringforts are among the most numerous archaeological monuments in Ireland, with estimates running to tens of thousands surviving in various conditions across the country. They were typically constructed during the early medieval period, roughly between the fifth and twelfth centuries, and served as enclosed farmsteads for landowners of middling rank. The earthen banks, sometimes topped with a timber palisade, defined a working enclosure rather than a military fortification in any modern sense. The Lisheennaheltia example was noted by Knight around 1975 and by Conway around 1980, both of whom are cited in the published inventory of north Galway. Around 200 metres to the north-east lies a separate earthwork, suggesting the landscape here held more than one focus of early activity, though the relationship between the two features is not documented.