Emerald Park

About

Emerald Park (Irish: Páirc Smaragaide), previously known from its 2010 opening to 2022 as Tayto Park, is a 22 ha (55-acre) amusement park and zoo located in the townland of Kilbrew, County Meath, Ireland, about 25 km (16 mi) northwest of Dublin. Upon opening, the park was themed around the Irish potato crisp brand Tayto (whose factory is adjacent to the park), and was originally conceptualised by Tayto’s then owner, farmer-turned-entrepreneur Raymond Coyle (d. 2022). The park includes the only permanent rollercoasters in the Republic of Ireland, a Frisbee ride, adventure playgrounds and an exotic zoo.

The park opened on 24 November 2010. It was designed by Stewart and Sinnott Architects, landscaper Anthony Ryan and designer Milo Fitzgerald, with an €8.5 million investment from Ray Coyle, the potato farmer who established Largo Foods, and bought out the Tayto brand. The park developed 22 hectares of County Meath farmland into an American-style park. It is the sixth most popular paid-for attraction in Ireland, with 750,000 visitors in 2015. Visitors to the park also had the option to visit the factory on certain days.

During its early days, the park lacked rides and was much smaller, only containing the zoo area and playgrounds. Throughout the years, the park began to open rides beyond the zoo area and also became a full amusement park.

In February 2022, it was announced that the park, along with its elements would be rebranded in 2023 after Tayto Snacks - now owned by German company Intersnack - confirmed they would not be renewing their sponsorship agreement. On 29 September 2022, it was announced that the park would be renamed "Emerald Park" from 1 January 2023, with reference to Ireland's nickname of the "Emerald Isle."

Emerald Park has a range of attractions for a range of ages, including a playground and smaller play areas, a maze, a "5D cinema", and arts and crafts, magic shows and face painting. There is also a circus tent.

The park previously operated on a system of zones and payment tokens, with a paid option for unlimited usage, but moved to an all-access model (subject to age limits for certain rides—younger visitors are limited to the general attractions and some simpler theme park machines).

The Junior Zone features a 10-metre high Junior Drop Tower (by Zamperla ), a steam train ride, a car driving experience manufactured by Nissan, a spinning roller coaster manufactured by Visa, a spinning boat non-water ride and a leaping ride manufactured by Zamperla.

Emerald Park contains a zoo accredited with BIAZA and EAZA. It holds a diverse animal collection, with several conservation-dependent species. Access to the zoo is included in the entry to Emerald Park. The zoo, which has won awards, is committed to conservation education and research. The collection features animals including big cats, primates, exotic birds, rare breeds of farm animals as well as native Irish birds of prey. There are also three "visitor experiences": a "petting farm", the "World of Raptors" free-flying bird of prey display, and a "Lemur Walk" path through an enclosure.

Emerald Park has a range of attractions for a range of ages, including a playground and smaller play areas, a maze, a "5D cinema", and arts and crafts, magic shows and face painting. There is also a circus tent.

The park previously operated on a system of zones and payment tokens, with a paid option for unlimited usage, but moved to an all-access model (subject to age limits for certain rides—younger visitors are limited to the general attractions and some simpler theme park machines).

The Junior Zone features a 10-metre high Junior Drop Tower (by Zamperla ), a steam train ride, a car driving experience manufactured by Nissan, a spinning roller coaster manufactured by Visa, a spinning boat non-water ride and a leaping ride manufactured by Zamperla.

Emerald Park contains a zoo accredited with BIAZA and EAZA. It holds a diverse animal collection, with several conservation-dependent species. Access to the zoo is included in the entry to Emerald Park. The zoo, which has won awards, is committed to conservation education and research. The collection features animals including big cats, primates, exotic birds, rare breeds of farm animals as well as native Irish birds of prey. There are also three "visitor experiences": a "petting farm", the "World of Raptors" free-flying bird of prey display, and a "Lemur Walk" path through an enclosure.

A new themed area of the park called "Tír na nÓg" was opened on 22 May 2024, based on Celtic mythology. Plans for the area included two rollercoaster models from Vekoma, a Suspended Thrill Coaster and a Family Boomerang.

A number of minor incidents have occurred within Emerald Park.

In June 2012, a former employee who was working as a tour guide broke her ankle after she went down a sixty-foot slide called Tayto's Twister. The slide was not open to the public at the time but she, along with other employees, were told to try it so that they could "get a feel of it". She sued Ashbourne Visitor Centre Ltd, trading as Tayto Park, as a result of the accident. She also sued Hags Aneby AB of Sweden and Spraoi Linn Ltd, the manufacturer and supplier of the slide respectively. The case was settled out of court. Following the accident, the ride was altered in relation to how steep it was and at the turns. A year later, a boy suffered a kidney injury when falling as he got off the slide. He received €63,000 in compensation. The slide has since been permanently closed.

In October 2016, a wooden staircase in one of the park's Halloween attractions, "House of Horrors" suddenly collapsed, injuring nine people.