The rectangular enclosure, measuring 27.5 metres east to west and 22.5 metres north to south, is now covered in scrub and furze but still retains its distinctive defensive features. Low earthen banks define the space, with the eastern bank reaching 6 metres wide and standing 0.6 metres high on the inside, whilst dropping 1.8 metres on the exterior. These banks are complemented by external fosses, or dry moats, on three sides; the eastern fosse spans 6 metres across at the top, narrowing to 3 metres at its base with a depth of 0.6 metres. The northern side differs, featuring a defensive scarp about 1 metre high rather than a moat.

The site’s strategic placement becomes clear when considering its surroundings. A stream runs east to west approximately 70 metres to the south, whilst another flows north to south about 110 metres to the east, providing natural water barriers that would have enhanced the site’s defensibility. The location also forms part of a broader medieval landscape; Killegney motte, another Norman fortification, sits roughly 280 metres to the east-northeast, whilst Killegney church lies about 300 metres to the southeast, positioned across the north-south stream.

This type of moated site represents a common form of medieval rural settlement in Ireland, particularly associated with Anglo-Norman colonisation from the late 12th century onwards. Unlike the more imposing stone castles, these earthwork enclosures likely contained timber buildings and served as fortified farmsteads for lesser nobility or prosperous tenants. The preservation of the earthworks at Killegney, documented in Barry’s 1977 survey and later incorporated into the Archaeological Inventory of County Wexford in 1996, provides valuable evidence of how medieval communities organised and defended their agricultural holdings in the Irish countryside.