It is a windmill, circular in plan and originally three storeys tall, though the western to northern arc of its wall has completely collapsed, leaving the structure open to the sky and the weather on that side. What remains is enough to read the building clearly: a doorway facing south, rectangular windows rising above it on the first and second floors, and traces of further openings on the upper levels towards the north-east.

Windmills were never especially common in Ireland, and those that do survive tend to be fragmentary. This one is modest in its dimensions, roughly 3.7 metres in diameter and standing to a height of just under 8 metres, with a slight batter at its base, meaning the walls angle inward very gently as they rise, a technique that gave the tower added stability against the lateral forces of wind and the weight of the machinery it once housed. The placement on a knoll would have been deliberate; even a modest elevation in relatively flat terrain improves exposure to prevailing winds, which was the whole point. The surrounding landscape of north Galway, close to Headford town, is quietly agricultural, and this tower once played a practical role in that economy, most likely grinding grain for a local estate or farming community.

The structural condition was described as dangerous, with the collapsed section leaving the remaining walls vulnerable, so the tower is one to observe carefully rather than enter or approach too closely.