This rectangular enclosure, measuring 41 metres north to south and 30 metres east to west, represents a type of fortified homestead that once dotted the Irish countryside during the Anglo-Norman period. The site consists of two defensive banks with a water-filled ditch, or fosse, running between them; a classic design that would have provided both security and status to its medieval inhabitants.

The monument’s defences remain clearly visible despite centuries of weathering. While the inner bank can still be seen near the southeast corner, most of the interior is now defined by a steep scarp that marks where the original earthwork once stood. The outer bank and its accompanying fosse are particularly well preserved, though some quarrying activity has unfortunately damaged portions of the northern and eastern sides. Within the protected interior, archaeologists have identified a curious horseshoe-shaped depression approximately nine metres long, which may represent the remains of a building foundation or other domestic structure.

These moated sites, which appeared across Ireland from the 13th century onwards, served as fortified farmsteads for Anglo-Norman settlers and wealthy Irish families who adopted this architectural style. Unlike the stone castles of the nobility, these earthwork enclosures offered a more affordable yet still effective form of defence, typically housing a timber hall and associated farm buildings within their protective banks and water-filled ditches. The Moat example, first documented in detail during archaeological surveys in the 1980s and later included in the Archaeological Inventory of County Galway, stands as an important reminder of how medieval communities shaped and defended their rural landscapes.