First documented by archaeologist O’Kelly in the early 1940s, this nearly square platform structure once stood surrounded by a defensive fosse, or water-filled ditch. Though time and agricultural activity have reduced the platform to just 0.6 metres in height, its original footprint of 33.5 metres across still marks the landscape, telling a story of medieval life and defence.

The site’s strategic placement within view of Caherguillamore House suggests it may have formed part of a larger medieval complex. To the east and south lies an associated village site, indicating this wasn’t an isolated structure but rather one element in a broader settlement pattern. The surrounding field contains traces of ancient boundaries and what might be an old sunken roadway, evidence of the busy medieval landscape that once thrived here. These features paint a picture of organised agricultural and defensive systems that characterised rural Ireland during the medieval period.

What makes this site particularly intriguing is its disappearing act from official records; whilst it appeared on early Ordnance Survey maps, it vanished from later editions, perhaps reflecting its gradual deterioration or changing archaeological priorities. Today, visitors to Coolfune can still trace the outline of this once-imposing structure, imagining the wooden palisades that likely topped the earthen platform and the murky waters that filled the surrounding ditch, keeping both cattle and unwanted visitors at bay.