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Gormanston Summer School, run by the Federation of Irish Beekeepers' Associations |
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One of the most magnificent beekeeping events in the whole world, it is staged annually in July by the Federation of Irish Beekeepers' Associations in the small village of Gormanston in Ireland, at the Franciscan College that is situated there.
This page and the many others on this web site that deal with various Gormanston
related topics, have a wealth of information and additional photographs, the one at right
shows the main staircase, which is central to all Gormanston activities. these photographs
and documents may help intending visitors to make up their minds positively to attend. The
pages with Gormanston information have been marshalled into a
dedicated index so that you may see the benefits for yourselves.
This special index even has a reservation form that you can print and send with your
deposit.
Maybe you have heard of the Gormanston Conference before ? Many have, but few realise the full extent and richness of the facilities on offer. This has become more important since the accommodation has been upgraded... Originally a boarding school with dormitory sleeping accommodation, the college could hold four hundred or more attendees, but since upgrading of this accommodation has been progressively carried out, the number of rooms and hence beds has reduced. As this has happened the quality of the accommodation has increased, but there are now only enough beds for about three hundred and twenty to stay on site. There are bed and breakfast establishments locally that can be used as well.
With this reduction in bed numbers it becomes more important to get your booking done earlier, to ensure your place. I placed my booking for the 2007 event while still at the 2006 one.
So what can be learned at Gormanston ? My answer is simple... More or less anything to do with beekeeping at any level, by those knowing nothing about bees up to being considered an expert. The lectures and workshops that are offered are of a very high standard and are organised into several parallel streams, but even if the subject you wish to learn about is not listed on the program, you can ask about the subject and it is likely that there is an expert among the many academics, lecturers and visitors that can answer your question. Some of the previous years' programs are already in the list on the index page and there are others that will be added retrospectively when time allows. These previous programs will give you a flavour of what has been done before. Many of the visitors are capable lecturers themselves so there is a massive amount expertise that can be drawn upon. You can pick and choose among all of the lecture streams, in 2006, seventy one lectures/workshops were delivered by a total of forty six lecturers.
The college site is a pleasant place and ideally suited to the diverse lecture programme. The College staff are welcoming and extremely helpful, many of the same staff are there year by year and if you have been a few times before, they remember you.
If the information in this page is insufficient, have a look through all of the recent files in the index, they contain a good deal of information and the pictures will give a flavour of what goes on. Use the most recent brochure and reservation form to contact the organisers directly, although I am not involved in organising the conference, I can answer Email queries or put you in touch with someone who can answer them.
If you know of any online articles about Gormanston Summer school, that I have not listed, please inform me by Email and I will add them to the index.
Written... 16 September 2006, Revised... 22 August 2007,
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