This rectangular enclosure, measuring approximately 72 metres northeast to southwest and 60 metres northwest to southeast, is surrounded by a fosse between five and eight metres wide. According to historian Bence-Jones, this moated area once protected an earlier house or castle that predated the current Georgian structure.

Historical maps provide tantalising glimpses of what once stood here. The Down Survey maps from 1655-6, both the barony map of ‘The Liberties of the Citty of Kilkenny’ and the parish map of ‘St Patricks Parish’, clearly mark a castle in the southern portion of what was then called ‘Clonemoryne wood’ or ‘Wood of Clonemorne’. The accompanying terrier specifically notes ‘a Castle in repaire in Clonemorne’, suggesting the structure was still standing and maintained in the mid-17th century. At that time, the property belonged to George Shea, and the area appears to correspond with today’s Castleblunden townland.

Whilst no visible traces of the original castle remain above ground, the surviving moated enclosure likely served as the bawn, a defensive courtyard typical of Irish castles and fortified houses. These water-filled defences would have provided both protection and a statement of status for the medieval or early modern structure that once commanded this spot. Today, only the impressive earthworks remain, their still waters quietly preserving the footprint of Kilkenny’s forgotten fortress.