250 entries for inaugural Cavan honey show

The inaugural Cavan Beekeepers Association Honey Show attracted 250 individual entries, with interest shown from across the four provinces of Ireland.

The event, which took place at Ballyhaise Agricultural College on Saturday, November 18, catered for a wide variety of categories, including run, comb and granulated honey, beeswax candles and models, mead and honey cakes.

A large audience attended, with Jim Fletcher, International Honey Judge, commending all entrants and stating that most of the entries could take their place at any show in the world.

He was also very complimentary of the management of the college for their support of the Cavan Beekeeping Association.

Among the invited guests were Carmel Brady, leas cathaoirleach, Cavan County Council; John Kelly, principal, Ballyhaise Agricultural College; Marianne Lyons, vice principal, Ballyhaise Agricultural College and Ken Norton, secretary and board member of the Federation of Irish Beekeepers Associations.

As well as the various class prizes, there were four major awards conferred.

These included the Cavan Beekeepers Cup for ‘Best Novice’, which was won by Keira O’Reilly from Kilcogy; the Raymond Fitzpatrick award for Comb Honey won by Alan Brady from Tullyvin; the Supreme Cup for Best Run Honey won by Cliff Deegan from Quin, Co Clare; and the Charles Robinson Cup for the overall best exhibit in the show, which was won by Seamus Murphy for a bottle of sweet mead.

Cliff Deegan also added a Cavan honey show award to his long list of honours, which includes prize for best honey at the London Honey Show.

AND THE WINNERS ARE

2 Jars Light Honey: 1. Des Devine; 2. Bernie O’Reilly; 3. Kathleen Devine.

3 Jars Medium Honey: 1. Cliff Deegan; 2. Richard Koss; 3. Des Devine.

Jars Dark Honey: 1. John Summerville; 2. Des Devine.

2 Containers Cut Comb: 1. Siobhan O’Riordan; 2. Alan Brady.

Frame for Extraction: 1. Alan Brady; 2. George Hall; 3. Kathleen Devine.

1 Honey Fruit Cake: 1. Olive Browne; 2. Ken Norton; 3. Stephen Shannon.

1 Plain Honey Cake: 1. Ann Brennan; 2. Ken Norton; 3. Kitty Cusack.

1 Bottle Sweet Mead: 1. Seamus Murphy; 2. Des Devine; 3. John Summerville.

1 Bottle Dry Mead: 1. Cliff Deegan.

1 Jar Granulated Honey: 1. Seamus Murphy; 2. Evelyn O’Reilly.

1 Jar Soft Set: 1. Cliff Deegan; 2. John Summerville; 3. Pat Curran.

5 Wax Blocks: 1. Seamus Murphy; 2. Evelyn O Reilly; 3. Cliff Deegan.

3 Moulded Candles: 1. Siobhan O’Riordan; 2. Alan Brady; 3. Bernie O’Reilly.

3 Non Moulded Candles: 1. Kitty Cusack; 2. Bernie O’Reilly.

1 Photograph: 1. Eddie Lloyd; 2. Siobhan O’Riordan; 3. Olive Browne.

CBKA Class 2 Jars: 1. Evelyn O’Reilly; 2. Siobhan O’Riordan: 3. Stephen Shannon

Novice 1 Jar: 1. Aidan Brady; 2. Barry O’Reilly; 3. Mary Smith.

Novice 2 Jar: 1. George Hall; 2. Michael Barrett; 3. Maura McPhillips.

Novice Tasting Class: 1. Keira O Reilly; 2. Maura McPhillips; 3. Owen Doonan.

Wax Model: 1. Brendan Smith; 2. Barry O Reilly.