This fortified enclosure, measuring approximately 62 metres north-northwest to south-southeast and 54 metres east-northeast to west-southwest, once protected Isert Kelly Castle, which still occupies its southern corner. The bawn’s perimeter is defined by grassed-over tumbled stone walls, roughly 68 centimetres thick, with traces of both inner and outer wall facings still visible in places. Two original stone-lined entrance gaps survive; one in the south wall at 1.56 metres wide and another in the west wall at 2.57 metres wide.

The southeastern corner of the bawn contains the ruins of what may have been a banqueting hall, a rectangular building measuring 18.3 metres long and 8.4 metres wide. Its walls, now mostly reduced to grass-covered rubble, still retain enough structure to hint at its former grandeur, with a section of the north wall having collapsed intact into the interior. Perhaps most intriguingly, a stream flowing northeast to southwest along the eastern edge of the bawn appears to have been deliberately channelled to create a moat-like defensive feature along the eastern and southern sides. Boulders visible along both banks suggest these water defences were once stone-faced, though traces along the western and northern sides are now only hinted at by changes in vegetation colour.

Since 2014, Dr Rory Sherlock and the Galway Archaeological Field School have been conducting ongoing research excavations at the site, gradually uncovering more details about this fortified complex. An additional enclosure extending from the north side may also be associated with the main defensive works, suggesting the site was once part of a larger fortified landscape that protected both the castle and its supporting structures.