This motte and bailey fortification, with its stone castle crowning the earthen mound, represents a typical example of Norman military architecture in medieval Ireland. The eastern edge of the complex makes clever use of the landscape, where a steep natural scarp drops away from the ridge, providing an additional layer of protection that would have deterred any potential attackers approaching from that direction.

Today, visitors to the site will find only fragments of the once formidable stone castle that topped the motte. The southern wall remains standing, along with the southern portions of both the eastern and western walls, reaching up to what would have been the first floor level. These walls, measuring 1.45 metres thick and standing approximately 3 metres high, offer a tangible connection to the castle’s medieval past and hint at the substantial structure that once commanded this elevated position.

The motte and bailey design at Gortkelly reflects the standard Norman approach to establishing control over newly conquered territories in 12th and 13th century Ireland. This type of fortification, with its raised earthwork mound topped by a wooden or stone keep, surrounded by an enclosed courtyard or bailey, could be constructed relatively quickly and provided an effective defensive position. The surviving stonework suggests that Gortkelly evolved from its probable wooden origins into a more permanent stone fortress, though time and the elements have reduced it to these evocative ruins that still mark the Tipperary landscape.