Emo Court's great yew is 4.37 metres round and 14 metres tall, a many-stemmed tree in the parkland south-east of the house. A yew at Emo was measured in 1794 by Samuel Hayes for his Practical Treatise on Trees; whether it was this one, nobody can prove. The national register gives it 200 to 300 years as of 2009, so somewhere between 200 and 400 today. The gardens and parkland are run by the Office of Public Works and open all year in daylight.
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European YewNo photograph yet European Yew · 200-400 years
In 1794 Samuel Hayes measured a yew at Emo and put it in his Practical Treatise on Trees, among the good yews of his day. Whether it was this one, nobody can prove. The Ancient Yew Group, which keeps the record, asks the question and leaves it open, and so do we.
What is certain is the tree itself. When the Tree Register of Ireland visited in August 2009 it measured 4.37 metres round and 14 metres tall, which put it in the register's ancient class. The national heritage tree register, on the same day, recorded one yew at Emo in coppice form, many stems rising from one base, and gave it 200 to 300 years. The two records almost certainly describe the same tree, since it was the only yew either team wrote down here, but they never say so in as many words.
Add the years since and the age comes out at somewhere between 200 and 400. If the 1794 yew is this one, it was already a tree worth measuring more than 230 years ago. Nothing dates it further back than that.
Emo Court is managed by the Office of Public Works, and Laois County Council says the gardens and parkland are open all year in daylight. The house is a separate guided tour. Check heritageireland.ie before you set out, since seasonal hours vary.