This rectangular enclosure measures approximately 48 metres from east to west and 37 metres north to south, though centuries of agricultural use have left it barely visible to the untrained eye. What remains is a low earthen bank, ranging from 3.5 to 9 metres wide and standing just 20 centimetres high, which defines the western, northern, and eastern boundaries of the site. The southern edge has been lost to a modern road that cuts across what would have been the complete perimeter.

Moated sites like this one were a common feature of the medieval Irish landscape, particularly during the 13th and 14th centuries when Anglo-Norman settlers established farmsteads throughout Leinster. These defensive earthworks typically consisted of a rectangular platform surrounded by a water-filled ditch and an outer bank, creating a secure space for a timber hall or stone building. The moat served both practical and symbolic purposes; it provided defence against cattle raids and marked the status of its inhabitants as landholders of some standing.

Today, the interior of the Kilbride site appears as a level, featureless field, giving little hint of the buildings that would have stood here seven centuries ago. Despite its poor preservation, this humble earthwork represents an important chapter in Ireland’s complex medieval history, when new agricultural practices, architectural styles, and social structures were taking root in the countryside. Sites like these remind us that history isn’t just found in castles and cathedrals, but also in the subtle undulations of seemingly ordinary fields.