What survives is an impressive earthen mound with remarkably steep sides and a flat top, measuring approximately 46 metres across at its base and 18 metres at the summit. This substantial earthwork would have once supported a wooden tower or keep, forming the defensive heart of an early Norman fortification.

Around the base of the mound, you can still trace the outline of a fosse, or defensive ditch, which would have made any assault on the castle considerably more challenging. On the eastern side, there are faint traces of what appears to be an external bank; another layer in the site’s defensive arrangement. The Archaeological Survey of Ireland has documented and surveyed the monument, creating a detailed profile that helps us understand its original form and scale.

Time hasn’t been entirely kind to the castle motte, with later walls and trenches cut into the base of the earthwork causing some damage to its original structure. These later additions likely date from when the land was repurposed for agricultural use, a common fate for many of Ireland’s Norman earthworks. Despite these modifications, the motte remains an imposing feature in the landscape, offering a tangible connection to the Norman conquest and settlement of Ireland in the 12th and 13th centuries.