The main defensive structure consists of a circular earthwork approximately 44 metres in diameter, defined by a substantial scarp that varies in height from just over a metre on the eastern side to more than two metres along the northern and western sections. Between this inner scarp and the faint traces of an outer bank runs a defensive ditch, or fosse, nearly eight metres wide and reaching depths of 1.4 metres. The monument straddles a townland boundary running from north-northwest to south-southeast, and historical Ordnance Survey maps reveal its changing nomenclature; known as ‘Shanbally fort’ in 1840 and later as ‘Ranacrohy’ by 1904.

Adjoining the main ringwork to the southwest lies a rectangular bailey measuring roughly 33 by 23 metres, enclosed by earthen scarps that have survived to varying degrees. The southern and western boundaries remain most visible, standing between a quarter and half a metre high, whilst the eastern side has been largely levelled, leaving only a subtle 20-centimetre rise in the ground. A trackway enters the bailey through a gap on the eastern end of its southern side, following a natural break in the slope that has been enhanced by a three-metre-wide earthen scarp.

The defensive capabilities of this fortification were further enhanced by what appears to be a separate fosse around the bailey’s northwestern corner, which seems to connect with the main ringwork’s ditch system. Today, the grass-covered interior of both structures remains generally level, offering few clues to the internal buildings and activities that would have once animated this medieval stronghold. The site’s strategic positioning and complex defensive earthworks suggest it served as an important local power centre, controlling movement through this part of medieval Tipperary.