This substantial earthwork rises nine metres high from its 45-metre-wide base, with a flat summit spanning 26 metres across. The mound is encircled by a defensive fosse, a dry moat measuring nine metres wide and reaching depths of up to three metres. Today, trees and scrub cover the ancient fortification, which sits at the crest of a south-facing slope overlooking a ravine, with a stream flowing approximately 80 metres below.

This motte likely served as the administrative centre, or caput, of the Prendergast fief of Schyrmal, a Norman holding that commanded two and a half knights’ fees in medieval times. The Prendergasts were among the Anglo-Norman families who arrived in Ireland following the invasion of 1169, establishing their power through a network of these defensive earthworks across the countryside. The strategic positioning of this particular motte, commanding views over the surrounding landscape and the ravine below, would have provided both defensive advantages and a visible symbol of Norman authority in the region.

Modern development has encroached upon the site, with houses now surrounding it from the southeast to southwest, and a road running along its southwestern to northern edges. Archaeological investigations in the area, including testing conducted 75 metres to the southwest in 1998 and immediately adjacent excavations in 2003, have yet to uncover any material directly related to the motte’s occupation. Despite this lack of artefactual evidence, the earthwork remains one of Wexford’s most substantial examples of Norman military architecture, its impressive dimensions testament to the resources and labour commanded by its medieval builders.