The site lies in open pasture, with the high escarpment to the south casting shadows across the landscape, whilst Meelick Lough sits just thirty metres to the north, surrounded by an expanse of wet, flat grazing land. Though a farmyard now occupies the space immediately to the west, this elevated platform likely served as a bawn or bailey; a fortified courtyard that would have provided additional defence for the castle above.

The platform itself tells an interesting story of change over time. While it doesn’t appear on the 1838 Ordnance Survey map, by 1929 it was recorded as a sub-rectangular area measuring roughly 50 metres north to south and 45 metres east to west, with the castle positioned slightly east of centre. Today, what survives measures approximately 34 to 35 metres by 48 metres, though modern farming has left its mark: a concrete wall now defines the truncated western edge, the eastern side has been partially levelled, and farm tracks cut across both the northern end and eastern flank of the platform.

The platform’s construction appears to have involved either scarping into the natural landscape or modifying an existing rise or knoll. The terrain slopes quite dramatically from near the castle ruins down to the outer edges on the south, west and north sides, but the eastern approach presents a gentler gradient with a relatively level top, suggesting this may have been the original entrance. Sharp-eyed visitors can still spot what might be remnants of stone facing along the southern scarp face, a tantalising glimpse of how this defensive structure once appeared when it guarded the valley floor centuries ago.