The square-shaped earthwork, measuring just over 31 metres north to south, sits in a particularly wet and marshy spot, with a fast-flowing river about 50 metres to the west and a bubbling spring or stream just 10 metres from its southwest corner. This strategic placement near water sources was typical of medieval moated sites, which often relied on the natural wetness of the land to keep their defensive ditches filled.

The site consists of an earthen bank, roughly 4 metres wide and standing between 0.7 and 1.5 metres high depending on which side you measure from, with a shallow outer ditch or fosse about 5 metres wide. Today, dense gorse has completely overtaken the banks whilst the waterlogged interior has become a haven for rushes, making detailed examination rather challenging. Interestingly, this isn’t the only moated site in the area; two others can be found nearby, suggesting this part of North Tipperary once hosted a concentration of these defensive homesteads during the medieval period.

The most intriguing aspect of this site emerged during excavations in the mid-nineteenth century, when workers uncovered a substantial oak beam buried about 60 centimetres below the surface of the fosse. This impressive piece of timber, measuring 5.5 metres long and roughly half a metre square, featured four visible mortice joints, leading the excavator to speculate it might have formed part of a wooden causeway or even a drawbridge that once spanned the defensive ditch. Adding to the site’s historical significance, the same excavation yielded a groat coin from the reign of Queen Mary Tudor, providing a tantalising glimpse into the site’s occupation during the tumultuous sixteenth century.