This slender isthmus connects the southwestern tip of Illaunmuckinish Island to the mainland, separating Muckinish Bay to the east from the estuary that flows into Ballyvaughan Bay to the west. To the south, bare rock and improved pasture rise up the moderately steep hillside, creating a striking backdrop for this fortified enclosure.

The bawn itself forms a substantial rectangular space measuring 41 metres north to south and 39 metres east to west, with limestone walls standing between 2.4 and 3 metres high. Built from undressed, randomly coursed local stone, the walls are 65 centimetres thick and topped with decorative mock crenellations; a later addition that hints at the structure’s complex history. At the centre of the northern wall stands a partially collapsed four-storey tower house, which would have served as the main residence and defensive stronghold. Whilst the bawn doesn’t appear on the 1842 Ordnance Survey map, it is clearly marked on the 1915 edition, suggesting either later construction or significant rebuilding during the intervening years.

Today, modern life has quite literally driven through this historic site. A road cuts directly through the bawn, entering via a 12.5-metre gap in the western wall and exiting through a narrower 4.3-metre opening on the eastern side, providing access to contemporary holiday homes built within and around the complex. Archaeological assessments suggest that whilst much of the structure may be original, it underwent extensive repairs during the 18th and 19th centuries, transforming it from a defensive fortification into part of the local landscape’s living heritage.