Ringforts, known in Irish as raths when earthen, were the typical enclosed farmsteads of early medieval Ireland, roughly from the fifth to the twelfth century. Thousands survive across the country in varying states of preservation, and this one belongs firmly to that category of sites that rewards a careful second look rather than an immediate impression.

The enclosure is roughly circular, with an internal diameter of around 21.7 metres on the northeast to southwest axis. It is defined by a denuded earthen and stone bank, standing about 1.3 metres on the inside and 1.5 metres on the outside, with an overall width of 7.5 metres. A fosse, the ditch that would originally have run around the exterior of the bank, survives to a width of about 2.7 metres but is now largely infilled and only clearly visible along the southern arc. The bank itself is best preserved from the south-southeast around to the north, while elsewhere it has been reduced to as little as 0.4 metres in height and has been broken through in the south-southeast sector. A formal entrance gap, 2.6 metres wide, survives in the northwest. The notably high stone content within the bank is not incidental; it reflects the local bedrock outcrop, which is a characteristic feature of this part of Kilkenny, and gives the structure a slightly more solid appearance than a purely earthen equivalent might have. Inside, the ground is uneven, churned over the years by grazing cattle, which have obscured whatever subtle features the interior surface might once have shown.