The site measures roughly 40 metres square and is defined by an earthen bank that curves from west-northwest around to the north, then east to south-southeast. From inside, this bank appears modest at just 30 centimetres high, but step outside and you’ll find yourself looking up at a three-metre wall with a scarped edge running from north to east.

What makes this site particularly intriguing is its defensive architecture. An external fosse, or ditch, runs around much of the perimeter from west-northwest to south-southeast, with faint traces continuing from south-southeast to south-southwest. At its base, this ditch spans about eight metres wide and drops to a depth of one and a half metres; a formidable obstacle in its day. Within the northwest corner of the interior, archaeologists have identified a raised rectangular platform measuring eight by twenty metres, defined by scarping against the inner side of the earthen bank.

The true identity of this earthwork remains tantalisingly uncertain. Writing in 1906-7, the antiquarian Westropp suggested this might be the site of Ballymurely Castle, though he hedged his bets by also placing the same castle at Maryville, some three and a half kilometres to the south. Whether castle, fort, or something else entirely, this ancient enclosure stands as a testament to the strategic importance of this corner of Limerick, its banks and ditches still marking out a space that once held significance for those who built it.