Portlaoighise is home to Ireland's best known maximum security prison. While the town itself is modern and not very interesting it can be a good base to explore the surrounding countryside.About 4 miles east of the town is the impressive Rock of Dunamase. The rock was easy to defend due to its slippery slopes and there have been fortifications on it since the Iron Age.Eight miles North of the town is Emo Court. The house was
commissioned by the Earl of Portarlington in 1790. This monumental Neo-Classical mansion has a splendid façade.
