Tribes Beekeepers Association
ar scáth a chéile
Founded in Galway on 9th April 2013, Tribes Beekeepers Association (‘Tribes’) is an organisation providing support to its club members on beekeeping matters. Its motto, ‘Ar scáth a chéile’, means ‘under the wings of one another’.
Preparing for Winter in Your Apiary
Preparing your bees for winter is not complicated or difficult but still many beekeepers overlook many of the little jobs that need to be done and even some of the bigger jobs.
Some Beginner Beekeeping Mistakes
This article will try to help you avoid some of the most common beekeeping mistakes we have seen. If you are beginning beekeeping, you are
The Bee Smoker – Beekeeping Equipment
The bee smoker is one of the most important tools in the beekeeper’s box, that and the bee suit. But it is also one of
Catching Bees – Bait Hives & Swarms – Hive Removal
Catching bees is a great way of starting a new hive and bait hives are a great way of catching bees. These pointers may be
Strange Bee Behaviour at Hive Entrance
One of the things that worry beginner beekeepers most in the early months or even years is when bees gather at the entrance to their hives. Novices immediately think that there is something disastrously wrong and that they have somehow failed. This is not necessarily so. But here is a…
Honey Bees and Beekeeping for Fun and Profit
Why would you even want to get involved with stinging insects in the first place? Well, there are several reasons. The original reason for keeping bees was likely for the honey. If you kept the hives nearby, you would not need to hunt around to find a hive and if you found one, you might have to climb…
Welcome to Tribes Beekeepers Association Galway
Beekeeping is well known to be important to the environment and the economy so the more people practising it and helping the bees the better for all of us. Many people today are joining beekeeping associations and educating themselves in an effort to become aware and improve the welfare of these important pollinators. The hands-on approach of clubs and associations is more effective than simply reading books and attending occasional lectures, though they are very useful. We are glad to say that beekeeping in Galway is growing in popularity year on year.
Members of our Galway Beekeepers association are winning prizes for their honey, wax and honey cakes at a national level. They show what can be done when you have a little support from your friends and some good bees. The business of beekeeping can be serious but is is a lot of fun and that is one of the reasons our club is doing so well. We all enjoy our hobby and attending the meeting and lectures. It is not all about exams. They are optional. Most of are here for the craic and the bees.
Tribes Beekeepers Association would be very glad to have long established Galway beekeepers join so that their experience and knowledge can be passed on to a new generation of beekeepers. So whether you are a beginner or a guru, we hope that you will join our club.

Help With Swarms of Bees
Have you seen something like this hanging around your garden or on a wall of your home or office?
We may be able to help you with that. Some of our members enjoy rescuing bees looking for a home. Give us a call and we will check to see if any of our members are available and get them to call you.
Swarming is a natural phenomenon and is their way of procreating. These bees have broken away from another colony to start a new one of their own.
Tribes Maintains a High Standard of Beekeeping & Honey Production

Honey Shows
Some of our members like to enter honey shows. The picture on the left shows Mary Wall with some of the prizes she won for her honey and wax at a pre-covid honey show where she displayed her work. Also in the Picture are Paul O’Brien FIBKA President and Tribes Treasurer, and some of the honey judges.
A little preview
Honey Bees Tending Their Queen
The Queen spends her day laying eggs and she has attendants all around her that see to everything she needs to do that job.

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