The site consists of a roughly rectangular raised platform measuring 30.5 metres north to south and 26 metres east to west, surrounded by an earthen bank that still stands at an impressive 1.45 metres high on its exterior face, though only 0.75 metres on the interior. Running from the west-southwest to the northeast, this defensive bank has been reduced to a low rise on its other sides, likely worn down by centuries of weather and agricultural activity.

The site’s defensive features extend beyond the earthen bank to include an external fosse, or ditch, that runs from the northwest to the northeast. Though relatively shallow at just 0.15 metres deep with a base width of 2 metres, this water-filled ditch would have provided an additional layer of protection for whatever structure once stood on the raised platform. Today, the entire site is covered in tall grass and rushes, making it difficult to discern many surface features without closer inspection.

Moated sites like this one at Cloonty were typically constructed between the 13th and 14th centuries by Anglo-Norman settlers or wealthy Gaelic families. The raised platform would have supported a timber hall or tower house, whilst the surrounding water-filled moat served both defensive and status purposes. These sites are relatively common in County Limerick, which saw significant Anglo-Norman settlement during the medieval period, and they represent an important phase in Ireland’s complex medieval landscape where Gaelic and Norman influences merged to create distinctive settlement patterns.