The monument consists of a circular mound approximately 20 metres in diameter, rising dramatically from a complex defensive system of fosses (ditches) and banks. The mound’s flat summit shows evidence of small quarry holes on its eastern side, whilst the base is encircled by a deep, wide fosse and a broad berm; a flat area between the inner and outer defensive features. The entire structure is further protected by an outer bank with its own external fosse, creating a formidable double ring of earthworks.

What makes this site particularly intriguing is the ongoing debate about its original purpose. Whilst officially classified as a ringfort, aerial photographs from Cambridge University taken in 1966 and 1970 suggest it might be something quite different. The steep, artificially raised mound bears a stronger resemblance to either a prehistoric burial mound or an Anglo-Norman motte; a type of castle mound introduced after the Norman invasion of Ireland. When compared to the nearby bivallate ringfort visible in the same aerial photographs, which shows the typical characteristics of such structures, the differences become even more apparent.

Perhaps most fascinating is the possibility that this could have been a royal inauguration site. The monument’s morphology bears striking similarities to the Forradh, the famous inauguration mound at the Hill of Tara in County Meath where the High Kings of Ireland were crowned. Two causeways provide access across the fosses; one at the east measuring 1.2 metres wide, and another at the east-southeast spanning 1.1 metres. The site remains connected to the local landscape through the townland boundary fence between it and Galmoylestown Lower, which follows the monument’s perimeter from northeast to southeast. With the Rahanduff ringfort just 50 metres to the west and a possible levelled moated site 80 metres to the southeast, this monument sits within a rich archaeological landscape that speaks to centuries, if not millennia, of human occupation and use.