Did you know that Clonmel and honeybees go way back? Local tradition says that the first settlers of Clonmel followed honeybees down the river Suir and established a settlement where they saw where the bees stopped. It's because of this that Clonmel got its name, Cluain Meala (The Valley of Honey).

Unfortunately, the Irish bee population is in trouble. Since 1980, half of the 42 species of Irish bees have gone extinct. Currently, 30% of the Irish species are threatened with extinction. Six species are critically endangered, 10 are endangered and 14 species are vulnerable.

On International Bee Day (20^th May), the Clonmel Show launched our 2024 theme “Clonmel Show Buzz” in conjunction with the South Tipperary Beekeeping Association. This theme will focus on celebrating honeybees and Clonmel’s history of beekeeping and honey production. We will be running competitions and spreading awareness to encourage the community to plant more flowers to help pollinators and promote locally sourced honey by providing honey-based recipes.

To get invloved and win some fantastic prizes, we invite you to post your best photos or videos on social media of how you're helping honeybees by planting flowers or your best honey-based recipes while using #ClonmelShowBuzz in the caption.

Keep an eye out for #ClonmelShowBuzz on social media to find out more!