The Federation of Irish Beekeepers’ Associations 67th Annual General Congress
Summer Course 2011
Sunday 24th to Friday 29th July, 2011
Franciscan College, Gormanston, County Meath.Recently I attended the bee-keeping courses at the Franciscan College in Gormanston, Co Meath. The college with its fine buildings and gardens including a spectacular cypress tunnel walkway is situated in Gormanston, approximately 20 miles from Dublin Airport on the road to Belfast. The Irish Bee Keepers Association has held courses at this venue since 1961. The courses are to be highly recommended. Bee keepers are a gentle kind, inclined towards beards (men only) who enthusiastically follow their wholesome and productive hobby.
The guest lecturer was Robert Pickard who is an international authority on the biology of honeybees and President of the Cardiff Beekeepers’ Association and the Central Association of Beekeepers.
He ran the Bee Research Unit at Cardiff for 25 years, which attracted students from more than fifty different countries around the world, and edited the Journal of Apicultural Research. Currently, he is Chairman of CoRWM at the Department of Energy and Climate Change and one of four Independent Advisors to the Welsh Assembly Commission.
I attended all but one of his lectures and came away a wise and better man as a beekeeper. The week began on Sunday afternoon and the closing ceremony was held at 2.00 pm on Friday, where all the certificates were presented to candidates who took exams.There was a good representation from the clubs in Connacht, with everyone in attendance having an enjoyable time.
It was an experience! and I was delighted to be a part of it.
