Ringforts, known in Irish as raths, were enclosed farmsteads typically built during the early medieval period, roughly between the fifth and twelfth centuries. This one at Drumparsons measures approximately thirty metres across, which places it on the smaller end of the scale, and its position on the crest of a glacially deposited hill would have given its original occupants a clear view of the surrounding landscape.

What makes this site structurally interesting is that it is not a simple single-banked enclosure. The circular area is defined by an inner earthen bank, separated from a second outer bank by a fosse, which is a defensive ditch cut into the ground. Measurements recorded at the southern side show the inner bank standing about 0.65 metres high on its outer face, with the fosse measuring roughly 2.4 metres across at its base, and the outer bank rising half a metre on its inner face. This double-bank and fosse arrangement, sometimes associated with higher-status settlements, survives in an overgrown condition, with vegetation now blurring what was once a carefully engineered boundary. No original entrance has been identified, meaning the point where people and livestock would have passed in and out of the enclosure remains unknown.