The Keeper of the Bees: Bees and Beekeeping in Irish Folklore

(Hardback)

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Did you know that bees have been around for over 100 million years Or that the Brehon Laws included judgments about the rightful ownership of swarms And why Irish beekeepers plant bluebells around their hives

From the perfection of their hexagonal honeycombs to their ordered matriarchal society, bees have been revered for thousands of years.

In this beautifully illustrated book, beekeepers daughter and student of folklore Eimear Chaomhnach weaves folktales about bees with memories of growing up in a beekeeping household, collecting swarms with her father and learning how to harvest honey.

With legends about Aristotle and Irish saints and accounts of customs such as telling the bees, this is a fascinating look at the beliefs and traditions about bees and beekeeping.

Reviews

I recommend it highlyfor beekeepers in your life ... nature lovers. Get this book, give it as a Christmas gift, it will be loved all around! ... Its absolutely beautiful, youll love it!

This delightful and unusual book about bees is the perfect Christmas gift for a beekeeper or a buddy interested in all things bees. The emphasis on Irish folklore is especially welcome, as many of us will have heard similar stories over the years, and it is interesting to discover the variations and local references. In an easy, almost conversational manner, Eimear Chaomhnach, a scholarly folklorist, includes folk tales from many parts of the world and from ancient history, as well as Irish folklore. A strong autobiographical narrative runs through the book, so it is very far from being the typical collection of folk tales. Eimear is the daughter of a highly experienced beekeeper who took her to the bees as a young child. She learned from him both how to handle and how to appreciate and understand the bees, so her comments about some very tall folk tales are particularly apt. She writes as one who admires bees as remarkable social insects, and is intrigued by the long-standing relationship with humans. It is clear throughout that she also admires her father, who is probably the inspiration for writing the book. She tells affectionately of times when she has been with him to tend his colonies, and often repeats his words describing honey as liquid gold. The book is a wonderful corrective to the commercial world of honey production and this term, suggesting honey is an almost holy natural resource, is worth retaining when speaking to our beginners I strongly recommend this beautifully illustrated and produced book

Author Bio

Eimear Chaomhnachgrew up in a beekeeping household inDublin.As an undergraduate and postgraduate of Irish Folklore in UCD, she spent many years researching the lore of bees and beekeeping in Irish and international folk traditions. This work is the culmination of academic and field research, alongside very personal experiences as a beekeeper's daughter, shadowing her father's beekeeping practice for more than forty years. Eimear has worked in the arts and heritage sectors in Ireland for more than twenty years and is currently adirector on the board ofThe Stinging Flyliterary magazine.