As an 18-year-old, he made his debut for Laois in a win over Meath in 1992.
With his "long hair and powerful frame", he was one of the "darlings" of the Laois supporters throughout the 1990s.
[citation needed] He won a Leinster Senior Football Championship medal with Laois in 2003, having been persuaded out of his retirement announced in 2001.
With his club, Portarlington, Emerson won two Laois Senior Football Championship medals in 1995 and 2001.
This Laois Gaelic football biographical article is a stub.