About Us

Foundation
Beekeeping has always been a rural based activity and in South Kildare a Beekeepers Association has been functioning for over 60 years. On the 19th of March 1930 the South Kildare Beekeepers Association was founded. Some of the founding members were Fr. M.J. Kinnane C.C.; Brother P. Dolan Superior C.B.S.; Pat Guilfoyle, Fortbarrington; Charles Chambers, Farmhill; F.B. Youell; Anthony Reeves, Reevesmount; and W.A. Tyndall, Horticultural Instructor in Naas. In May 1930 Fintan Brennan joined and became Secretary of the Association.
Fr. Kinnane was the Associations first Chairman and he organised demonstrations and lectures in beekeeping. South Kildare was the first Beekeepers Association in Ireland to establish standards for bottled honey. The Policy of producing a high grade bottled honey rather than sectioned honey was adopted by the Association. Honey from the local hives was bottled with a label bearing the name of the Association and a map of Ireland with an individual number allocated to each honey producer. Honey from South Kildare was despatched to all parts of Ireland and Jacobs, the biscuit manufacturers and the Monument Creameries, both of Dublin, were buyers of substantial quantities of the product.
Challenges
