A rath, as the Irish term has it, is a roughly circular enclosure defined by an earthen bank and ditch, built during the early medieval period as a farmstead or high-status residence. This one sits on a natural terrace on a north-west facing slope, positioned to overlook the flood plain of the Cloonalaghan River below.

The enclosure is nearly circular, measuring 21.2 metres on a north-east to south-west axis and 21 metres across on the perpendicular. Its defining bank is built of stony earth, about two metres wide, but its height varies considerably depending on where you measure it. On the western side, the bank reaches 1.8 metres externally, coinciding with a natural break of slope that lends it a pronounced outer face; on the eastern side, the external height drops to just 0.4 metres. Remnants of stone facing are visible in places, suggesting the bank was once more formally constructed than it now appears. The western and northern sections have been absorbed into a field boundary and townland fence, a fate common to many such monuments in agricultural landscapes. Elsewhere, the bank has been worn down by grazing animals. One of the more curious features is an internal dividing bank, narrower and lower than the main enclosure bank, which partitions the south-eastern quadrant of the interior and raises it slightly above the level of the rest. Why this subdivision was made is not recorded; it may reflect a practical separation of domestic space, or a later modification to the original layout.

Gorse and brambles have colonised much of the interior and the south-western perimeter, making close inspection of the ground surface difficult. The second ringfort lies just 30 metres to the south-east, close enough that the two enclosures would have been clearly visible to one another, and perhaps functioned as part of the same extended settlement.