These rectangular earthwork enclosures, surrounded by water-filled ditches, served as fortified homesteads for those who could afford such defences but weren’t quite wealthy enough to build stone castles. The site consists of a raised platform, typically measuring around 40 by 30 metres, encircled by a deep moat that would have been fed by local streams or springs; a wooden drawbridge likely provided the only access point.

Archaeological evidence suggests these moated sites were more than just defensive structures; they were working farms and administrative centres for surrounding lands. The platform would have supported a timber hall house, along with various outbuildings including barns, workshops, and storage facilities. The moat itself served multiple purposes: defence certainly, but also drainage for the raised platform, a source of fresh fish, and perhaps most importantly, a clear statement of social status in medieval Irish society. The water barrier protected valuable livestock from wolves and cattle raiders whilst creating a microclimate that helped moderate temperature extremes.

Though over 200 moated sites have been identified across Ireland, with particular concentrations in counties Cork, Tipperary, and Mayo, many have been lost to agricultural improvement over the centuries. The Cloghannageeragh example survives as a grass-covered earthwork, its moat now dry or seasonally flooded, but the distinctive rectangular outline remains clearly visible in the landscape. These sites began to fall out of use by the 15th century as stone tower houses became the preferred form of rural fortification, leaving these earthworks as quiet reminders of a transitional period in Irish history when Norman and Gaelic cultures were beginning to merge into something uniquely Irish.