The church at Knockainy West was built on the site of the medieval church of Knockainy, meaning that the ground beneath the current structure has likely served a religious function for centuries before the present building was ever raised. That kind of continuity, a modern fabric sitting directly over a medieval one, is not unusual in Ireland, but it tends to pass without remark, which is part of what makes sites like this worth pausing over.

The graveyard surrounding the church is roughly rectangular in plan, measuring approximately 58 metres north to south and 81 metres east to west, and is enclosed by a stone wall that, like the church itself, dates to after 1700. The entrance gate sits on the western side. Just to the south of the graveyard wall lies St. Mary's Well, recorded under the reference LI032-141010. Holy wells in Ireland are ancient features of the landscape, often associated with pre-Christian veneration that was later absorbed into Christian practice; they frequently appear in close proximity to churches and burial grounds, forming a kind of sacred cluster. The details here were compiled by Caimin O'Brien and uploaded in April 2019 as part of a systematic survey record.

Knockainy village lies in south County Limerick, and the graveyard is accessible from the west via the entrance gate in the boundary wall. Anyone visiting should look for the well to the south of the enclosure, as it sits just outside the main boundary and can be easy to overlook if you enter and head directly for the church. The rectangular regularity of the enclosure is itself worth noticing, since it suggests a deliberate, planned space rather than one that accumulated organically over time. There is nothing elaborate here, no grand architecture or remarkable ornament, but the layering of periods, medieval foundation, post-1700 rebuild, enclosed ground, and adjacent holy well, makes for a site that repays a slow look rather than a quick one.