This impressive medieval fortification consists of a circular earthen mound that reaches between 8.7 and 11 metres in height, with a flat top measuring 12 metres across. The base of the motte spans an impressive 45 metres in diameter, and though time and quarrying have taken their toll on the surrounding defensive ditch, or fosse, traces remain visible on the western side where it measures 6 metres wide. A counterscarp bank, essentially an outer defensive earthwork standing about 1.5 metres high, can still be traced along the southern, western and northern sides.

Attached to the eastern side of the motte lies a raised rectangular bailey, the fortified courtyard that would have housed the garrison and essential buildings of this Norman stronghold. This grass and scrub-covered platform measures 44 metres from north to south and 31 metres from east to west, defined by scarps that drop 3.5 metres on the eastern side. The bailey’s attachment to the main motte created a unified defensive complex, typical of Norman military architecture in Ireland during the medieval period.

The strategic positioning of this fortification, roughly 20 metres north of a west-southwest to east-northeast section of the River Blackwater, would have provided both a water source and an additional natural defence. Today, grass and scrub cover both the motte and bailey, softening the military edges of what was once a stark symbol of Norman control over the Irish landscape. The site remains one of Meath’s notable medieval earthworks, its substantial proportions still evident despite centuries of weathering and human interference.