This book relates the history of beekeeping on the island that forms the most westerly part of Europe, where the warm North Atlantic Drift gives a climate that is soft and gentle, supporting many wild flowers. Most Irish historians start with legendary kings and chieftains in the mists of antiquity, and beekeeping is no exception. Some of the earliest Irish writings about bees are in laws that survive from the 7th century. Early Irish poetry shows appreciation of honey and bees, and a number of beekeeping exploits are attributed to the early Christian saints. There is little to recount about beekeeping in Ireland for the next thousand years, although some vestiges remain. The thread is picked up again in the 1700s, when Dublin was a center of enquiry and advancement in which beekeeping had its part. The Dublin Society, in particular, published books and leaflets to improve the craft. Since then, beekeepers throughout Ireland have been increasingly well read, and the story of the their work in creating and nurturing their Beekeepers' Associations occupies a large part of this book. the book is above all a record of voluntary service and co-operation through which the small beginnings in 1881 grew into the present network of Associations throughout the island. The wealth of detail available to the author indicates a high level of record-keeping during that time. - from Amzon