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Welcome to the County Louth Beekeepers Association (LBKA) website

Originally founded in the summer of 1910, our association works on behalf of member beekeepers, providing opportunities to learn the craft and science of beekeeping. Equally important, we provide a social outlet for members to meet with fellow beekeepers - opportunities to share tips and tales. We are blessed to have many excellent beekeepers who are always willing to share their knowledge and experiences.

Our association is committed to supporting the native dark bee, Apis mellifera mellifera.

We are affiliated to our national body, the Federation of Irish Beekeepers Associations (FIBKA). We provide our members with classes and support to attain FIBKA academic and practical certifications.

The Kevin Griffin apiary is located near the M1 roundabout at Junction 16, where members can come and gain practical experience through the beekeeping year.

We also hold regular lectures on all aspects of beekeeping. Members and interested non-members are always welcome to attend.

Asian hornets in the UK!

Asian hornets have really become a problem in the UK, with seven sightings in 2018 and four nests destroyed, in Hampshire, Cornwall, Lancashire and Yorkshire.
Please make yourself familiar with this invader since unfortunately it's only a matter of time before it gets to Ireland. 

Upcoming events

  • ​Beginners' classes start in Dundalk on Tuesday 12th February and in Drogheda on Tuesday 19th of February - see article below for details.
  • On 21st February, Michael Maunsell will talk on Colony Evaluation and Record Keeping. This is a timely talk as the bee season kicks off over the next few weeks, and it's important to track your colonies to be able to make good decisions.
  • On 28th March we will have Gerry Ryan speak on Maximising your Bees. Gerry is a past president of FIBKA and has many years experience in getting the most out of his bees.
  • On 25th April, our own Paul Boyle will be talking on From SUper to Supermarket. As most of you know, Paul is a Honey Judge, so there isn't much he doesn't know about honey.
  • On 19th May, to coincide with National Bee Day, a plaque celebrating Turlough Butler O’Bryen, a.k.a. The Bee Man of County Clare, who was born and grew up in Ardee, will be unveiled in Ardee. More details to follow.

News and External Events

  • You have probably been aware that An Beachaire is available in an online version on the FIBKA web site. Now the site also has back issues of the UK BBKA News online, so there's plenty to read.
  • The 2019 UBKA conference is on 15th-16th of February.
  • The Native Irish Honeybee Society is holding their annual conference on 1st and 2nd March.
  • County Cork BKA have their Spring lectures on 9th & 10th of March and this includes talks from Mike Palmer.

Looking after your bees

All lectures start at 8pm in Teagasc, Dundalk (see map). Beginners are welcome and admission is free. See the map below if you need help finding us.
This website is a work in progress, if members have interesting articles, stories, pictures, videos etc. that they'd like to submit for inclusion, please get in touch. We would be delighted to publish a blog post from anyone who has something to say. If you would like to share something but you're unsure about any aspect, we'll be delighted to help where we can. You can contact us at:  lbkasec@gmail.com, or through the contact form. ​

Membership Fees

Membership is now overdue. If you don't pay soon, you'll notice that An Beachaire will stop arriving. Also, as of 1st January, you are no longer covered by insurance! 

The fee for an adult is €80. There are a number of ways to pay:
  • Send a cheque with your details to the secretary (see below).
  • Pay online in our online shop.
  • Bank transfer to our account - IBAN: IE47 AIBK 9324 5028 6971 39 (BIC: AIBKIE2D)
  • The secretary will be happy to accept your membership fee at any lecture.

Secretary's contact details

The secretary's contact details are:
                   Anna Monaghan
                   "An Tigin", Knockacleva, Collon, A92 VK70
Phone:   086-3963349
Email:     lbkasec@gmail.com 

Beginners Classes

Our beginners course is very popular this year, so we're run it in two locations in parallel. The first lecture in Teagasc, Dundalk is on Tuesday 12th February at 7:30pm, and the first lecture in Teagasc, Drogheda is a week later on Tuesday 19th February at 7:30pm. There will be 8 classes in total,  delivered by a team of experienced beekeepers.

While most people signed up on our introductory lecture on 5th February, if you are interested please contact the secretary (details above).

The fee is €100 (or €105 online) which includes:
  • Classes and material
  • One year's membership of Louth Beekeepers' Association
  • Annual subscription to An Beachaire magazine delivered by mail
  • Participation in the FIBKA insurance scheme
  • FIBKA fees for the exam leading to the Preliminary Certificate of Proficiency in Beekeeping 
The fee is waived for persons under 18 years old (apart from the FIBKA exam fee of €20), but they must be accompanied by a responsible adult.

In Memoriam

As most of you probably have heard, one of our members, Philip McCabe, President of Apimondia, passed away on 20th October.

​Despite his busy role with Apimondia, Philip was always generous with his time to all beekeepers, and has spoken many times at our events. The photo below is of him talking to our 2018 beginners' class. His passing is an enormous loss to beekeepers, not only in Louth, but across the globe.