Marked as ‘Monastery’ on the 1837 Ordnance Survey map, this square-shaped enclosure measures approximately 42 metres north to south and 43 metres east to west, defined by a substantial earthen bank with notably high, rounded corners reminiscent of a moated site. The eastern portion has been quarried away, leaving visible damage to the enclosing element, whilst the grass-covered foundations of a rectangular building remain visible off-centre to the east, its walls still traceable as low banks dividing what was once a structure of 18.4 metres in length.

The site’s monastic attribution connects it to the monastery of Clonfad, founded in the mid-6th century by St. Etchen, though the actual monastery likely stood where the church and graveyard now lie, some 225 metres to the southwest. That location also hosts two high crosses, whilst a feature known as the ‘Bishop’s Grave’ can be found 145 metres to the south-southwest. The building within the earthwork, aligned on a north-south axis, was internally divided into two chambers; a smaller northern room measuring 4.2 by 4 metres, and a larger southern chamber of 14.2 by 4 metres.

Despite its designation as a monastery on historical maps, the earthwork’s characteristics suggest it may actually be the remains of a moated site or the enclosing earthwork of a medieval secular building. The absence of any visible masonry in the enclosing bank, combined with the distinctive high, rounded corners and the nature of the internal structure, points towards a defensive or residential function rather than an ecclesiastical one. A shallow depression in the northwest corner hints at further quarrying activity, adding another layer to this site’s complex history of use and reuse through the centuries.