The Diary of the 2nd Earl of Portarlington indicates the slow progress of the building of Emo Court:

(Diary of John Dawson, the 2nd Earl of Portarlington: with acknowledgement to John S Powell ‘Shot a Buck’)

1817 Feb 1st	Put up the hall door
1818 Mar 11th	Put up the new chimney piece in my room
1818 Oct 9th	Began to paper the breakfast room
1818 Dec 13th	Finished the library
1824 Sept 28th	Began to finish the new bedroom
1824 Oct 9th	Laid first stone of the front portico
1824 Nov 13th	Finished the columns of portico
1825 Oct 1st	Finished the front portico
1826 Sept 2^nd	Pulled down last of old house [Dawson Court?]
1826 Sept 25th	Finished ceiling of portico & finished the staircase
1827 Apr 13th	Finished hall door
1829 Apr 22nd	Williamson [architect] here and took 5 of my plans of the house
1829 Dec 2nd	Laid the first stone of the new offices at the corner of the house
1830 Jul 23rd	Laid the first stone of wall of back portico at 8 am
1830 Oct 28^th	Williamson and Ballantine here: finished the sunk fence bank of the house
1832 May 11th	Mr Vulliamy architect left for London
1832 Sept 15th	Finished the base course of portico at back of the house: put up the two large mahogany sashes in the windows of the two wings in front of the house
1832 Oct 2nd	Laid the first Portland stone of the area wall opposite the dining room
1832 Dec 20^th	Put up the new bed in the pink room
1833 Jan 10th	Finished putting up the hypocaust under the library and staircase by Mr McKean of Dawson Street
1833 Feb 2nd	Finished the new wine cellar under the front portico
1833 April 19^th	Removed all the wine from the round cellar into the new cellar under the portico
1834 April 21^st	Removed the window in my room to the north and pulled up the floor
1834 Aug 3^rd	Finished taking away the large heap of earth on the west side of the house
1834 Sept 24th	Finished putting up the marble door case in hall
1834 Sept 29th	Commenced doing the back front of the house with Roman cement
1839 Nov 6^th	The window in the upstairs passage painted
1839 Nov 29th	Carpenter finished the dining room
1839 Dec 10th	Finished putting up the hall doors into saloon
1839 Dec 30th	Began unpacking the books in the library and lighted a fire therein
1840 Feb 1st	Dined in the new dining room for the first time