The site consists of a rectangular enclosure measuring 40 metres east to west and 35 metres north to south, protected by a substantial fosse, or defensive ditch, that’s 7.5 metres wide and 3 metres deep on three sides. The southern edge needed no such fortification, as the natural steep drop provided ample defence. A 7-metre-wide causeway at the northwest corner once provided the main access point to this fortified site.

At the heart of the enclosure stand the overgrown ruins of what was once a formidable rectangular tower, measuring 8 metres by 6 metres. Though time has not been kind to the structure, with the northeast and southwest corners collapsed and walls standing only to a single storey height, evidence suggests the tower originally rose at least one floor higher. The inward inclination of the upper portions of the north and south walls reveals they once supported a stone vault, now long fallen. Three window openings with double splays, characteristic of medieval defensive architecture, can still be traced in the west, south and east walls, whilst a short section of wall extending northward from the eastern end hints at additional structures that once stood here.

The site presents an intriguing chronological puzzle for historians. Whilst the tower itself appears to be late medieval in construction, possibly associated with the Barry Oge family as noted in historical records from 1940, the enclosing fosse is more characteristic of 13th or 14th century moated sites. This suggests the location may have been fortified in successive periods, with earlier earthwork defences later enhanced by the stone tower. Today, the ruins stand amidst a cairn of fallen masonry, a testament to centuries of Cork’s turbulent history.