This square enclosure measures approximately 30 metres on each side and is surrounded by substantial earthwork defences; an earthen bank that rises 0.7 metres on the interior and 1.2 metres on the exterior, with traces of an external fosse, or defensive ditch, still visible on the northern and eastern sides. The ditch, now dry and about a metre deep where it can be seen, has been filled in along the southern edge whilst dense vegetation obscures it entirely on the western side.

The site’s defensive perimeter remains largely intact, though nature has reclaimed much of it over the years. The thick overgrowth makes most of the earthen bank inaccessible to visitors, save for the western half of the northern side and the southeastern corner. A break in the defences, about two metres wide, can be found at the eastern end of the southern side, possibly marking an original entrance to the enclosure. Local memory adds an intriguing detail to the site’s history; apparently a spring well once existed in the northern fosse, though it was removed during drainage works in more recent times.

These moated sites, typically dating from the 13th to 15th centuries, served as fortified homesteads for Anglo-Norman settlers and prosperous Irish families during the medieval period. The Lisheenowen example represents one of many such sites scattered across North Cork, each one a reminder of how medieval communities balanced the need for defence with agricultural life in rural Ireland.