August, 2024 was one of the wettest in living memory, confining honeybees to their hives for long periods of time, according to Ethel Irvine from Fermanagh Beekeepers’ Association (FBA).

In spite of the abundance of rosebay willowherb (not to mention its lesser cousin, hairy willowherb, which is a poor secretor of nectar), bramble and other hedgerow plants, bees in Fermanagh seem to have been able to collect only enough to keep the colonies ticking over, with little left to rear the amount of brood necessary to see them through the winter.

My own colonies are very short of pollen, which is essential for brood rearing, and hopefully ivy will yield well as usual.

We thank Wendy Buchanan, Honey Show Secretary, for the report of the Honey Show given below.

What Wendy does not mention is the amount of hard work in preparation which she did in the months leading up to the Show, and for which FBA are extremely grateful.

 

Show was another great success!

On August 25, we held our 19th Annual Honey Show in Florence Court.

Alongside the Show, a team of our knowledgeable FBA beekeepers manned our information and education element of the Show which ran over both the Sunday and Monday.

As always, significant effort went into the planning of the Show, and perhaps especially so as we were changing venues within the Florence Court estate.

A huge vote of thanks must go to the National Trust and the staff at Florence Court for hosting us over the years, and this year, for allowing us to make the move into their ‘education wing’, where the spaces provided worked exceptionally well for us.

The Show attracted 97 high-quality entries, each of which had taken a lot of time and effort to produce.

It attracted beekeepers from Cavan, Monaghan, Fermanagh and Omagh – some even travelled from the Roe Valley just to see the Show, and FBA was delighted to welcome Jim Fletcher back to judge the event.

His stewards were Jackie Barry and Aine Enright, who learned a lot from Jim as they helped him.

The information, education and sales were also very successful, with a constant flow of visitors taking a genuine interest in bees, pollinators/pollination and beekeeping.

Particularly pleasing was the support provided by two of our young beekeepers, Hannah and Joseph Harris, who helped with many aspects of the two-day event.

Thanks to everyone who was involved in whatever way, as all helped to make the event so successful.

 

Next FBA meeting

The next meeting of FBA will be held on Thursday, September 26 at 8pm in Fermanagh House, when David Bolton will give an update on the progress of the Wild Bee Project.

We are delighted to welcome back to Fermanagh one of our Honorary Members, Andrew Elliott, who will speak on his experiences in Cumbria, which is where he and his wife, Yvonne, have made their new home – with honeybees in the garden, of course.

Everyone interested will be very welcome.

 

Results of the Honey Show:

Two 454gm (1lb) Jars of Extracted Honey (Light) – 1, Paddy Galligan; 3, Sandra Willis.

Two 454gm (1lb) Jars of Extracted Honey (Medium) and Fermanagh Beekeepers’ Award – 1, Seamus Murphy; 3, Paddy Galligan.

Two Sections of Honey and Dickie & Sons Annual Prize – 1, William Martin; 2, William Martin; 3, Paddy Galligan.

Two Pieces of Cut Comb Honey, each not less than 200gm – 1 and 2, Jackie Barry; 3, William Martin.

One Deep or Shallow Frame of Honey Ready for Extraction, and Moore Trophy – 1, Paddy Galligan; 2, Seamus Murphy; 3, Teresa McVeigh.

A Jar of Honey for Tasting, and McConnell Shield – 1, Stephanie Winslow; 2, Niall Lunny; 3, Charlie Dunleavy.

Block of Beeswax (Plain Cast Block) – 1, Seamus Murphy; 2, Paddy Galligan; 3, Lorna Dane.

Two 25-30g Blocks of Beeswax (Any Shape) – 1, Jackie Barry; 2, Seamus Murphy; 3, Charlie Dunleavy.

Any Artistic/Craft Exhibit on a Bee-related Theme – 1, Aine Enright; 2, Zia McClean; 3, Mary McGonigle.

Honey Cake (Plain) – 1, Charlie Dunleavy; 2, Mary McGonigle; 3, Aine Enright.

Honey Cake (With Fruit) – 1, Paddy Galligan; 3, Charlie Dunleavy.

Best Exhibit of Show (Produce of Hive), and Women in Agriculture Cup – Paddy Galligan.

Two 454gm (1lb) Jars of Extracted Honey (Novice Class), and Dessie Flanagan Novice Cup – 1, Mary McGonigle.

Beeswax-based Product – 1, Thomas McCaffrey; 2, Charlie Dunleavy; 3, Charlie Dunleavy.

One Bottle of Mead – 1, Seamus Murphy; 2, Lorna Dane; 3, Thomas McCaffrey.

Biscuits or Cookies (honey must be included in recipe) – 1, Charlie Dunleavy; 2 and 3, Aine Enright.

Highest Aggregate Points at the Show Vaughan Trust Trophy – Charlie Dunleavy.