The motte itself is a flat-topped earthwork, measuring roughly 16 metres across at its summit and broadening to 26.5 metres at its base, with a height between 3 and 5 metres. Surrounding this artificial hill are the remains of a defensive ditch, or fosse, which runs from east to west; though now only 0.4 metres deep, it still spans 3.7 metres at its base and 6 metres at the rim. The western face shows signs of more recent damage from scarping, and the entire site once served as a tree ring in modern times.

To the south of the motte lies what archaeologists believe to be the bailey, a defended courtyard that would have housed buildings and served as the castle’s outer ward. This rectangular area, measuring approximately 21 metres north to south and 40 metres east to west, is defined by distinctive landscape features: a sharp drop in ground level marks its boundary, whilst the western and southern sides show clear evidence of deliberate scarping. A shallow ditch on the eastern side completes the defensive perimeter of this outer enclosure.

The castle takes advantage of its natural setting, with a stream and valley providing additional defence to the west. This type of fortification, introduced to Ireland by the Anglo-Normans in the late 12th century, represents an important phase of medieval military architecture. The earthworks at Priest Town, though modified by centuries of use and reuse, remain a tangible link to the period when such castles served as both defensive strongholds and symbols of Norman authority in medieval Louth.