This rectangular enclosure, measuring approximately 25.5 metres east to west and 20 metres north to south, retains its impressive walls complete with a wall walk that rises to 7.3 metres in height. The only significant alteration to the bawn’s original structure occurred on its southern side, where a substantial house with 1.5-metre-thick walls was once built directly against the tower house, though this addition has long since vanished.

The bawn’s eastern wall features a pointed gateway just north of the tower house, standing 2.55 metres high and 1.9 metres wide, defended from above by machicolation; stone projections that allowed defenders to drop objects on attackers below. Similar defensive features survive at the northeastern corner, with remnants of another machicolation visible at the northwestern angle, demonstrating the serious defensive considerations of its medieval builders. These overhanging battlements would have provided crucial protection for the inhabitants during the turbulent centuries when such fortifications were essential for survival in rural Ireland.

Today, the site presents a fascinating blend of historical periods, with an 18th or 19th-century house built within the western wall of the bawn still serving as a family home. Just 30 metres south of the fortification lies the site of Rathmacknee church, creating a typical Irish medieval landscape where religious and defensive structures stood in close proximity. Together, these elements paint a vivid picture of centuries of continuous occupation and adaptation, from medieval stronghold to modern dwelling.