Our visit on Saturday 13th Sept 2025 was to Emo Court in County Laois, only an hour’s drive from Dublin. This fine Gandon-designed house was originally surrounded by over 11,000 acres making it one of the biggest estates in the country. Various owners, down through the years, modified and added to the design and in 1994, President Mary Robinson officially received Emo Court & Parklands from Major Cholmeley-Harrison on behalf of the Nation. The OPW has undertaken a major work of restoration which continues to the present day.
A group of us took the guided tour and as nobody else joined us, we had a very personalised tour of the rooms from a knowledgeable and entertaining OPW guide which enabled us to take as many photos as we wanted without flash. The rooms are faithfully restored with furniture of the era and many of the larger rooms provide impressive views of the surrounding gardens. Downstairs, the fully equipped kitchen and wash-rooms revealed the stark reality of life as a servant.
After the tour, we retired to the nearby Tea Rooms for some refreshments and conversation and a couple stayed on to walk around the estate to view the walled gardens and lake area. Very impressive.
Some images (click on an image to open in full-screen mode) from the outing can be seen below:
