Emo Court

Emo Court is a quintessential neo-classical mansion, set in the midst of the ancient Slieve Bloom Mountains.

The famous architect James Gandon, fresh from his work on the Custom House and the Four Courts in Dublin, set to work on Emo Court in 1790. However, the building that stands now was not completed until some 70 years later.

The estate was home to the earls of Portarlington until the War of Independence forced them to abandon Ireland for good.

The Jesuits moved in some years later and, as the Novitiate of the Irish Province, the mansion played host to some 500 of the order’s trainees.