This earthwork fortification sits on a gentle slope, flanked by modern development; a housing estate to the west and a garage and workshop to the north. Despite its proximity to contemporary life, the monument retains its distinctive circular form, measuring approximately 75 metres in diameter, though centuries of erosion and human activity have taken their toll on its northern sections.

The ringwork’s defensive features remain clearly visible to those who know what to look for. A scarp measuring one metre in height defines the inner edge of the fortification, reinforced along its northeastern and northern edges by a slight additional bank less than half a metre wide. Between this inner scarp and an outer defensive bank runs a fosse, or ditch, that would have served as the primary obstacle to any medieval attacker. This flat-bottomed ditch stretches nearly eight metres wide and can still be traced around the entire circuit of the earthwork, despite the damage to the northern portions.

The outer bank, which stands roughly half a metre high on both its interior and exterior faces and measures two metres wide, completes the defensive arrangement. A deliberate gap, just under three metres wide, breaks through this outer bank on the western side, likely marking the original entrance to the fortification. These ringwork castles were typically built by the Anglo-Normans in the late 12th and early 13th centuries as administrative and defensive centres, often serving as precursors to the more substantial stone castles that would follow. This example at Rathbane North, compiled for historical records by Denis Power in August 2012, offers a glimpse into the early phases of Norman settlement in County Limerick.