The site appears today as a gently elevated platform, rising about half a metre above the surrounding landscape. This rectangular space extends eastward from what would have been the main castle block before turning south, creating an L-shaped footprint that speaks to the defensive architecture of its time.

The courtyard’s boundaries are still discernible thanks to the fosse, or defensive ditch, that runs along its northern and eastern edges. This dry moat would have served as the first line of defence for the castle complex, forcing any would-be attackers to navigate difficult terrain whilst exposed to defenders on the walls above. Such features were common in Irish castle design, particularly during the turbulent centuries following the Norman invasion.

Archaeological surveys conducted in 1894 and again in 1987 by the Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland have documented these features, helping to preserve knowledge of the site even as time and weather continue their slow work of erosion. Though the castle’s main structures have long since vanished, the earthworks that remain tell their own story of power, protection, and the strategic importance of this Carlow location in centuries past.