Emo Court House

Emo Court, located near the village of Emo in County Laois, Ireland is a grand home built in the Georgian period. It and the grounds are currently run and managed by the OPW and have free entry. There’s a lovely little cafe on site (we stopped here for lunch) and a little stroll while on the way back from visiting County Cork.

Emo Court, Co. Laois

The same designer of the Customs House in Dublin, Emo Court house was designed by the architect James Gandon in 1790 for John Dawson, the first Earl of Portarlington. Started in the 1790’s, construction on the home was paused when the first Earl died. From there, due to money issues, construction was started and stopped several times before the building was completed in the 1860s. The house was in it’s prime between 1860 – 1900, but when World War I started in in 1914, and in 1918 the Easter Rising and subsequent War of Irish Independence, the Earls of Portarlington vacated the premises to return to England.

The house remained closed up and unoccupied until it was sold in 1920 to the Irish Land Commission. At the time the estate (home and grounds) which extended over nearly 20 square miles, had the land parceled out to to local farmers but the house remained empty. Finally in the 1930’s, the Jesuits bought the house, a portion of the land and opened a religious training school on the site, which lasted until 1969. Major Cholmeley Harrison then bought the property in 1969, restored the house and lived in it as his private residence before turning it over to the Irish Office of Public Works (OPW) in 1994. The home and grounds continue to be managed by the OPW today, and entry is free.

@phoenixrosedsgn Emo Court House and grounds,Co. Laois. #grandhome #georgian #Ireland #tourism #staycation #explore #opw #free ♬ I Wanna Be Rich – Chereh Sputswe

New Life goals: Having a house (and maid?) on fantastic manicured lands like this….Ha!

Emo Court, Co. Laois

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St. Coleman’s Cathedral, Cobh, Ireland

The Cathedral Church of St Colman in Cobh, Ireland was built between 1868-1919. It’s a Roman Catholic cathedral, church of the diosese, and overlooks the Cork Harbor from the top of Cathedral Place (a hill). It’s been dedicated to St. Colmán of Cloyne, patron saint of the Diocese of Cloyne.

Cobh, co. Cork Ireland

The cathedral measure 64 metres long, 36.5 metres wide, with the steeple being 91.4 metres tall (300 ft), making this gothic revival style cathedral the tallest church in Ireland. It is primarily constructed of blue Dalkey granite with Mallow limestone dressings, and a blue slate roof from Belgium. The bell tower contains Ireland’s only carillon, which with 49 bells is the largest in the British Isles. It contains Ireland’s largest bell, named St Colman which was originally installed in 1916, before being restored in 1998.

The video below is from the outside of the cathedral, with a bit of music added.

@phoenixrosedsgn St. Coleman's Cathedral, Cobh, Ireland #cobh #cathedral #countycork #ireland #music #gothic #catholic #church #stonework ♬ Ave Maria (Canto Gregoriano) – Sexteto Cantábile

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My Spider had babies!

Trigger Warning – Spiders.


I have a big beautiful spider that lives in a plant outside my front door. She and/or one of her descendants has lived in the plant for as long as I’ve been here, and I affectionately call her Charlotte (1, 2, 3, etc.) This morning, I came outside to discover that the lovely little egg sack that Charlotte the 3rd made has now developed into baby spiders. If you have arachnophobia – don’t look at the video below. If you rather like spiders and find them as fascinating as I do (especially if they are outside) then check this out!


@phoenixrosedsgn #spider #babies #hatchlings #arachnophobia #ohno ♬ Oh No – Kreepa
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