The enclosure measures 26.7 metres north to south, and what makes it immediately readable on the ground is the combination of a scarped inner edge and an outer ditch, or fosse, that together mark out a domestic space that once would have been someone's home, yard, and perhaps place of safety.

Ringforts, known in Irish as raths when defined primarily by earthen banks and ditches rather than stone, were the dominant settlement type in early medieval Ireland, built and occupied roughly between the fifth and twelfth centuries. They functioned as enclosed farmsteads, the bank and fosse providing a degree of security for livestock as much as for people. The example at Coolrus retains its defining features with reasonable clarity: the scarped edge stands around 0.9 metres high and extends roughly three metres in width, while the external fosse reaches down approximately 0.85 metres with a width of around 2.75 metres. These are modest but coherent proportions, consistent with a single-family agricultural enclosure of the period. The interior slopes gently downward towards its centre, a topographical detail that suggests the ground has been left largely undisturbed since the site fell out of use. The record was compiled by Denis Power and uploaded in August 2011.

The south-west quadrant of the interior has been taken over by gorse and briars, which makes that portion difficult to read on the ground, though the rest of the interior remains under pasture. Visitors approaching the site should expect to be reading the landscape rather than confronting any upstanding monument; the interest lies in tracing the circular logic of the scarped edge and following the fosse around the perimeter. The encroaching scrub in the south-west is worth noting, both as a navigational obstacle and as an accidental reminder of how quickly these features can become absorbed back into the countryside when farming activity moves on.