At roughly 35 metres in diameter, it is defined by a tree-lined bank, the trees themselves now part of the structure in any practical sense, their roots binding what centuries of weather have not undone. The outer face of the bank has accumulated field-clearance material, the slow accumulation of generations of farmers shifting stones to the edges of their land, which has obscured the original profile on the north-eastern to south-eastern arc. No trace of a fosse, the encircling ditch that typically accompanied such earthworks, is now visible.

Raths, the earthen ringforts that dot the Irish countryside in their thousands, are generally associated with early medieval settlement, roughly the period between the fifth and twelfth centuries. They functioned primarily as enclosed farmsteads, the bank and ditch providing a degree of security for people and livestock. At Shangarry, a causewayed entrance gap survives at the north-east, the point where the bank was deliberately left open and slightly raised to allow passage in and out. More intriguing is an L-shaped depression in the south-south-west sector of the interior. This may indicate the collapsed roof or entrance passage of a souterrain, an underground stone-lined chamber or tunnel, often used for storage or concealment, that was a common feature of ringfort interiors across Ireland. The depression has not been excavated, and its precise nature remains unconfirmed.