The site consists of an impressively large rectangular enclosure, stretching 90 metres from east-southeast to west-northwest and spanning 46 metres in width. Its defensive walls, built from undressed shale blocks and flags bound with mortar, still rise to an internal height of four metres in places, with a thickness of nearly a metre. The northern side features an additional outer fosse, a defensive ditch that would have provided extra protection, whilst a small square corner tower projects from the western end of the north wall.

The enclosure’s walls remain largely intact on the northern, eastern, and southeastern sides, though later farm buildings and stables have been built against their inner faces, speaking to the site’s continued agricultural use over the centuries. At the heart of the enclosed area lies a castle structure, which bisects the space along its shorter axis. The corner tower, measuring roughly 3.9 by 3.7 metres externally with walls 0.7 metres thick, stands as a testament to the site’s defensive capabilities, its rubble-filled interior reaching two metres in height.

Historical research by Gearóid Conroy suggests this wasn’t merely a defensive structure but may have served as a monastic grange belonging to St Thomas’ Abbey, possibly dating back to the late 14th century. This would mean the site functioned as an outlying farm estate managed by the monastery, combining agricultural production with defensive architecture; a common arrangement in medieval Ireland where religious communities needed to protect their valuable agricultural resources whilst maintaining productive farmland.