This earthwork fortification consists of a steep-sided circular mound, measuring approximately 23 metres across at its base, which would have originally supported a wooden tower or palisade at its summit. The mound rises impressively from the surrounding landscape, though today a field boundary cuts through it from north-northwest to south-southeast, dividing the structure into two uneven sections.

The summit of the motte forms a rough circle about 10 metres in diameter, though centuries of weathering have left it far from level. Several large depressions now mark the top, likely the result of collapsed structures, erosion, or perhaps later quarrying activities. These hollows give the summit an irregular, pockmarked appearance that hints at the site’s long abandonment.

Surrounding the motte is a substantial defensive ditch, or fosse, which remains wide and deep despite the passage of time. Parts of this defensive feature remain waterlogged, preserving something of its original character as a formidable obstacle to any would-be attacker. Such mottes were typically constructed in the 12th and 13th centuries as the Normans consolidated their control over Irish territories, serving as both military strongholds and symbols of authority over the surrounding countryside. This particular example at Tanderagee represents one of many such fortifications that once dotted the Cavan landscape during the medieval period.