This oval, flat-topped mound measures approximately 38 metres east to west and 48 metres north to south at its base, whilst the summit platform spans roughly 13 metres by 18 metres. Standing about 1.5 metres high, the mound’s southwestern side has a gentler slope compared to its other faces, suggesting either deliberate design or centuries of erosion and use.

A defensive fosse, or ditch, encircles the entire structure, reaching depths of around half a metre. Traces of an outer bank can still be detected running from northwest to southeast, where the earthwork has been incorporated into later field boundaries. The fosse appears deepest and partially filled in along this same northwest to southeast alignment, indicating how subsequent agricultural activity has modified the original medieval fortification.

This earthwork represents a motte, the mound component of a motte-and-bailey castle typical of Anglo-Norman fortifications in Ireland. These structures served as both military strongholds and administrative centres during the medieval period. The proximity to the medieval parish church of Cooliney, located approximately one kilometre to the north-northwest, suggests this was once part of a broader medieval landscape of power and control in North Cork. The site’s elevated position would have provided strategic views across the surrounding countryside, essential for both defence and asserting Norman authority over the local population.