The lane in question is known locally as Boithrín Caol, a name that translates roughly as "the narrow little road", and the underground passage associated with it survives more as a tradition than as anything a visitor could point to. No visible surface trace remains, and the passage itself is reportedly partly closed by loose stones. It occupies that peculiar category of archaeological site: one whose existence is known only because someone thought to write it down.

The reference comes from Ó Ríordáin, writing in 1931, which gives the tradition at least some early twentieth-century grounding, even if the feature itself resists verification. What was likely intended here is a souterrain, a type of underground stone-lined passage or chamber associated with early medieval settlement in Ireland, typically constructed from the sixth to the twelfth century. Souterrains were built for a range of purposes, most commonly for storage or refuge, and are found throughout the country, though West Cork has its share. They were usually attached to or near a settlement, constructed by roofing over a trench with large stone lintels, and then backfilling the surface above. The fact that this one is partially blocked with loose stones suggests either deliberate infilling at some point or the gradual collapse of its fabric over centuries.