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The "Laois" in County Laois is pronounced "leash" and it has no connection to "Laos", a country in Indochina! County Laois was
originally known as Queen's County after Mary Tudor, and she planted the area with loyal supporters in 1556.
This however did not
bring peace, and early in the 17th century many of the rebellious "septs" were banished to County Kerry, with the new incoming colonists
building many of the lovely houses and villages still in the area today. Great houses in the area include Abbeyleix, Roundwood House and
Emo Court.
Of interest, nearby County Offaly was also known as King's County, after Phillip 2nd, Spanish consort of Mary Tudor). The
countryside in County Laois is very beautiful, with the famous Slieve Bloom Mountains providing wooded glens, mountain streams and
open spaces.
Click on the headings to find out more:
The Rock of Dunamase in County Laois is a fractured limestone hill surmounted by the remains of an Iron Age ring fort first
plundered by the Vikings in AD845. It was succeeded by a 13th Century castle, which was attacked and blown to smithereens by the forces of
Oliver Cromwell in 1650, the greatest enemy and scourge the Irish ever faced. It has an easy climb to the top, and the views
are magnificent.
Emo Court is a magnificent neo-classical house designed and built by James Gandon during the period 1790-1795, based on the same
magnificent scale as his Custom House building, built for John Dawson, 1st Earl of Portarlington. The construction on Emo Court began in 1790
and additions were made at different stages. In 1834 the fashionable English architect Lewis Vulliamy added the north front portico with its
four giant Ionic columns. The present owner, Mr. Chomeley-Harrison rescued it from decay and demolition in the 1960s, and it has further been
recently restored by the National Heritage Service. Its domed rotunda, inspired by the Roman Pantheon, is probably one of, if not the most
impressive rooms in all of Ireland with its circular space lit by a lantern in the coffered dome, which in turn rests on gilded capitals and
Sienna marble pilasters. The house itself is surrounded by magnificent and extensive parklands with formal lawns, a lake and woodland walks.
Ballaghmore Castle, built around 1480, is located on the borders of old Ossory, and was the principal seat of the MacGillpatricks
(Fitzpatricks) Lords of the Upper Ossory. Strategically located on the Bealach Mor, the great road to Munster, it was partially destroyed by
Cromwell. In 1647 it came into the possession of the Cootes, who leased it to the Elys. Richard Ely, financed by a hoard of
gold found on his land, partially restored it in the 1830s. Ely was then murdered by his tenant, and the castle fell into disrepair. It was
then purchased by the present owners in 1990 and restored. It has many very interesting features including a rare Sheila-na-Gig high up on its
walls, and it offers superb views from the battlements. Kyle Hill, north of the castle is the legendary Brehon's Chair.
Aghaboe was the site of St. Canice's Monastery in the sixth-century. Sacked in 913, rebuilt again in 1052, destroyed again
in 1116, rebuilt again in 1234, and then destroyed again in 1346. Today, the 19th century church on the site of the Augustinian Priory church
holds 13th century artefacts and pieces from the nearby fourteenth-century Dominican Abbey. To the east of Aghaboe is Aghaboe House, a recently
restored early eighteenth-century private house, and to the north in a field is Adam de Hereford's square motte.
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