The rectangular enclosure measures roughly 25 metres from north to south and 19.5 metres from east to west, with its boundaries marked by an earthen bank and an outer defensive ditch, or fosse. Though time and farming have taken their toll on the structure, particularly along the western side where a modern field wall now stands in place of the original earthworks, the site’s defensive layout remains clearly visible.

The location choice speaks to the practical concerns of medieval settlers in this part of Galway. Building on slightly elevated ground above the marshes would have provided both natural drainage and a strategic vantage point, whilst the surrounding wetlands offered additional protection from potential attackers. Moated sites like this one were typically constructed by Anglo-Norman colonists or wealthy Gaelic families between the 13th and 15th centuries, serving as fortified farmsteads rather than full castles. They represented a middle ground between undefended rural settlements and the expensive stone fortifications that only the nobility could afford.

Adding to the archaeological interest of the area, a fulacht fia lies about 130 metres to the south-southwest. These ancient cooking sites, which predate the moated enclosure by potentially thousands of years, demonstrate that this patch of Galway countryside has attracted human activity across multiple periods. The fulacht fia, with its characteristic horseshoe-shaped mound of fire-cracked stones surrounding a water trough, would have been used for cooking during the Bronze Age; a reminder that this landscape has been shaped by human hands for millennia.