First documented on the 1839 Ordnance Survey map, this earthwork enclosure measures roughly 55 metres east to west and 45 metres north to south, though centuries of agricultural activity and natural erosion have softened its once-sharp edges.

The site’s most striking features are the water-filled moats that still define its western and eastern boundaries. The western moat stretches 7.5 metres wide and plunges 1.4 metres deep, whilst its eastern counterpart spans an impressive 13 metres across, though at a shallower depth of one metre. These defensive ditches would have originally surrounded a raised platform where a timber hall or tower house likely stood; the central area where the medieval structure once stood now measures about 35 by 30 metres. Today, mixed woodland has claimed much of the site, with a farm building and laneway marking the northern boundary and a 1.2-metre high scarp defining the southern edge.

Moated sites like Garryvarren were typically built by Anglo-Norman colonists or prosperous Irish families between the 13th and 14th centuries. They served as fortified farmsteads for the emerging gentry class, offering both protection and a visible symbol of status in the medieval landscape. The flat-bottomed profile of the moats here suggests they were designed to hold water year-round, creating both a defensive barrier and a source for fish; a valuable protein source in an age when Catholic dietary laws demanded numerous fast days throughout the year.