This circular earthwork, measuring 54 metres across its interior, would have once served as a fortified farmstead for a prosperous family, likely dating from the early medieval period between 500 and 1170 AD. The earthen bank that once fully encircled the site survives best on its western side, where it still rises to an impressive 1.5 metres in height. Archaeological evidence suggests there may have been a defensive ditch, or fosse, running alongside this section of the bank; a common feature that would have made the fort even more formidable to potential raiders.

Time and agriculture have not been kind to the eastern portion of the ringfort, which has been almost completely levelled over the centuries. The interior holds tantalising traces of various structures, though dense overgrowth and centuries of reuse make it difficult to determine exactly what these features represent or when they were built. Some might be the foundations of the original dwelling houses and outbuildings that would have stood within the protective enclosure, whilst others could be later additions from subsequent occupations of this strategically positioned site.

The ringfort’s location was clearly chosen with defence in mind; from this hilltop position, the occupants would have enjoyed commanding views across the surrounding cultivated landscape in every direction. This vantage point would have allowed them to spot approaching visitors, whether friend or foe, from a considerable distance. Such sites, known in Irish as ‘ráth’, are amongst the most common archaeological monuments in Ireland, with thousands scattered across the countryside, each one a reminder of a time when security meant living within earthen walls and keeping a watchful eye on the horizon.