Emo
Ioma

The village of Emo is a small estate village associated with Emo Court Demesne.There are three walks of varying lengths and all follow the various roads and forest tracks around Emo Court which is now managed by the Office of Public Works and Coillte. There is a pleasant picnic area beside the house and you may also explore the gardens and lakeshore paths.

• The walks start from the entrance gate to Emo Court Demesne.
• Guidance times are based on a steady pace with about half an hour for stops.
• Take care on the entrance road.
• Dress appropriately - wear or carry warm and waterproof clothes.
• Please observe the country code: take your litter home.


Emo Court Walks : 3 to 6 kms. ½ to 1½ hours
Forest Walks

All walks begin at the Gate Lodge beside the main entrance. Keep right at fork for Wellingtonia and Emo Court walks, which both circle anti-clockwise back to start-point. Keep left at fork for Oak Fall walk and take a clockwise loop back to the Gate Lodge.

Wellingtonia Walk: A quiet ramble passing through farmland, Coillte forestry and the longest avenue of Wellingtonia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) in Ireland. Follow the road into the park towards Emo Court but keep right at the fork. Shortly after take the forest road to the right. Keep left at three subsequent junctions to make an anti-clockwise return to start. As you pass through the arable crops, watch out for yellow hammers. This is the shortest walk with a brief uphill section and will take you about 40 minutes at a steady pace. Forest road, suitable for all types of walkers, especially families.

Oak Fall Slí na Slainte Walk: A pleasant walk through mixed woodland with panoramic views of Emo Court. Follow the road into the park and keep left at the fork. Shortly after take the forest road to the left. This route passes around the back of the Emo G.A.A. grounds. Follow the forest track around to the right – on your left a Spanish Chestnut tree. Keep straight along a forest of mixed woodland with predominantly beech to your left and conifers on your right. At the end of the forest track take a right onto a laneway and shortly after take a right onto a tarred public road which will take you back to the gate lodge. A good view of Emo Court house on your left. This walk will take you about an hour and is also the local Slí na Slainte walk. A nice easy walk, suitable for families.

Emo Court Walk: This walk makes a circuit of the estate and passes Emo Court. Follow the road into the park towards Emo Court but keep right at the fork. Follow this tarred road through forest plantation and then fields. Reach woodland on the left and turn left along forest tracks that lead to Emo Court. Pass the house on your right, continue through the carpark, through a crossroads and then keep left at next junction onto forest tracks. This mixed forestry area contains conifers on your left and beech on your right. This walk is suitable for all walkers, including families, it is the longest walk at about an hour and a half.


Local History
Emo Court

Emo Court demesne is the second largest walled park in Europe, after the Phoenix Park in Dublin. The parkland surrounds Emo Court, a neo-classical mansion designed in 1790 by James Gandon who is best known for two buildings in Dublin; the Custom House and the Four Courts. The architecture reflects
that of ancient Greece and Rome; at the entrance, four ionic columns support a pediment. Gandon designed the building and its grounds for the first Earl of Portarlington. Visitors can enjoy walks through
the demesne which includes the longest avenue of Wellingtonia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) in Ireland.
A wooded area called the Clucker features azaleas and rhododendrons.The Grapery contains unusual trees including weeping beeches and Corsican pines. There is a 10 hectare ornamental lake with an ornamental temple beside the sluice gates.