Though no visible trace remains above ground today, this rectangular enclosure was clearly marked on the Ordnance Survey’s 6-inch map from 1902, suggesting it was still recognisable just over a century ago. These moated sites, typically dating from the 13th and 14th centuries, were defensive homesteads built by Anglo-Norman settlers and wealthy Gaelic families during a period of considerable unrest.

The site would have originally consisted of a rectangular platform surrounded by a water-filled moat, with the excavated earth piled up to form defensive banks. At the centre, a timber hall or stone tower house would have stood, accompanied by various outbuildings for livestock, storage and daily activities. The moat served multiple purposes; it provided defence against raids, acted as a status symbol, and supplied water for the household whilst keeping the immediate area drained.

Like many such sites across Ireland, Ballynascubbig’s moated enclosure has gradually disappeared from view, its banks levelled by centuries of agricultural activity and its moat filled in and forgotten. Yet its presence on historical maps reminds us that the Irish countryside is layered with history, where seemingly empty fields once held fortified homesteads that witnessed the complex interactions between Gaelic Irish and Anglo-Norman cultures during the medieval period.