Dovecotes, sometimes called doocots, were purpose-built to house large numbers of domesticated pigeons, providing a reliable source of fresh meat and eggs, particularly through the leaner winter months. Their presence on a site tends to signal that whoever controlled the land had both the means and the status to maintain one, since the right to keep pigeons was historically a privilege of certain landowners and ecclesiastical institutions.

The dovecote at Blackabbey sits within the grounds of an associated church, recorded in the Urban Survey of Limerick, compiled by Bradley and colleagues in 1989. That survey noted the structure specifically, describing it as refurbished, which suggests it had already received some degree of conservation attention by that point. The Blackabbey placename itself points to an earlier religious foundation, and structures of this kind frequently survived in association with former monastic or ecclesiastical sites, where they had once served the practical needs of a resident community. An aerial photograph taken by the Archaeological Survey of Ireland in March 2006 provides a birds-eye view of the setting and the relationship between the dovecote and the broader church grounds.

The site is in County Limerick, and the dovecote occupies a specific position at the extreme north-western corner of the churchyard. Visitors with an interest in vernacular or agricultural heritage will find the structure modest in scale and easy to overlook unless they are actively looking for it. The refurbishment noted in the 1989 survey means the fabric of the building has been maintained to some degree, so the basic form should be legible on the ground. It is worth approaching from the north-western side of the churchyard boundary rather than assuming it will be immediately visible from the main entrance.