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Family Attractions & Zoos in County Laois

Laois · Leinster · 4 places

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County Laois (Laois) in Leinster features 4 mapped family attractions & zoos, led by Heywood Gardens, Emo Court, and Aghaboe Abbey. Across these 4 listings, 4 feature verified photography, 2 offer free entry, and 3 include mapped nearby public parking. Zoos, aquariums, theme parks, and visitor attractions.

Showing 4 of 4 places

Heywood Gardens — photo by Liam Hughes from Milwaukee, WI, USA
GeneralLaois

Heywood Gardens

Heywood House and Gardens is a Georgian house and gardens in County Laois, Ireland. The estate was developed in the late 18th century by Michael Frederick Trench, a politician, landowner and architect. He built a substantial house and laid out an extensive park, under the direction of James Gandon. In the early 20th century, Heywood was owned by Sir Hutcheson Poë who commissioned Edwin Lutyens to develop the gardens immediately surrounding the house. Lutyens engaged his long-time collaborator Gertrude Jekyll to undertake the planting. The house was demolished after a fire in 1950 and the gardens are now in the care of the Office of Public Works.

Emo Court — photo by AnTuisealGinideach
GeneralLaois

Emo Court

Emo Court, located near the village of Emo in County Laois, Ireland, is a large neo-classical mansion. Architectural features of the building include sash-style windows, pavilions, a balustrade, a hipped roof, and large dome. It was designed by the architect James Gandon in 1790 for John Dawson, the first Earl of Portarlington. It is one of the few houses to have been designed by Gandon. Other buildings by Gandon include the Custom House and Kings Inns in Dublin. While construction commenced in the 1790s, the first Earl died in 1798, and work was not completed until the tenure of the third Earl of Portarlington in the 1860s. Passing through several owners through the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the house and gardens were taken into ownership by the Irish state in the 1990s. Now managed by the Office of Public Works, the estate is open to visitors.

Aghaboe Abbey — photo by Andreas F. Borchert▶ Video
GeneralLaois

Aghaboe Abbey

The Abbey of Aghaboe is one of the most important of the abbeys and priories in County Laois. It was founded in the kingdom of Osraige by St. Canice in the 6th century. In his Vita Sancti Columbae (Life of St. Columba), Adomnán refers to the abbey, saying that its name means a (little field) of the cow: "quod Latine Campulus Bovis dicitur, Scotice vero Achadh-bou"

Other categories in County Laois

Castles (24) Ruins & Archaeological Sites (20) Mountains & National Parks (13) Museums & Galleries (7) Round Towers & High Crosses (2) Sea Cliffs & Rock Formations (2) Abbeys & Monasteries (1) Historic Houses & Forts (1) Waterfalls (1)

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