This medieval fortification consists of three distinct elements: an inner bank that rises just over a metre high on its exterior side, a defensive ditch or fosse that’s roughly 4 metres wide and over half a metre deep, and a modest outer bank that stands about a quarter of a metre tall. The entire structure forms the classic profile of a moated site, a type of medieval settlement that provided both defence and status to its inhabitants.

Walking through the site today reveals an interior that slopes dramatically towards the west, making the ground quite uneven underfoot. The inner bank, now crowned with a hedgerow, shows centuries of weathering; in some places it’s been worn down to little more than a steep slope or scarp. Time and farming have taken their toll on the earthworks, with the northern bank near the northeast corner having been breached to create an access point into the enclosure. Despite these alterations, the northwest corner remains remarkably intact, standing slightly taller than the surrounding banks and offering the best preserved section of the original medieval defences.

These moated sites were typically built between the 13th and 14th centuries, often by Anglo-Norman settlers or prosperous farming families who wanted a defendable homestead. The combination of banks and ditches would have been formidable when first constructed, possibly topped with wooden palisades and filled with water where the local topography allowed. Today, Curraheen’s earthworks stand as a reminder of medieval life in North Tipperary, when such fortified farmsteads dotted the Irish countryside.