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Ireland: The Bee Man of Piltown. Camino Tipperary to Santiago

Kevin Considine

Active Member
Time of past OR future Camino
2021
Walking The South Leinster Way; Carrick-on-Suir to Bunclody. Day 29-32:

While the scenery here is not as spectacular as The Beara, Kerry, and Dingle Ways, it is grand and there are no other hikers and the quiet is appreciated. But you are never truly alone in Ireland(like the Camino) and every now and then you meet one of the many treasures of Ireland:

The Bee Man of Piltown:

I left Carrick on Suir after a hearty Irish breakfast thinking it is day 29 of my pilgrimage and I am still in Tipperary. I love Tipperary but mentally it feels as if I am making little progress as I started in this county almost a month earlier. The morning walk is on paved roads and my energy is low. Then as I am walking north out of Piltown I realize that I am coming to the turnoff where Hugh Daniels( I walked from Dublin to Dursey Island in West Cork 2 years ago) lives. Around 11:00 I see his wife Valerie searching for something out front in her car and I greet her “Hello Valerie” and shake her hand and say “ Nice to see you again is Hugh at home”. She had no clue who I am but I feel Hugh will. So she sends me out back of the house and I find Hugh in back of the new metal barn with his bees and say “Hi! I'm back from Dursey Island” ( I walked Dublin to Dursey Island on the E8 in 2016 after celebrating 100 year anniversary of Irish Rebellion in Dublin on April 24. Hugh had a garden in his front yard and at the time he had a post with a yellow arrow pointing towards his front door. I could not pass that up and went and knocked on his front door. He answered and I asked if this was the South Leinster Way. He laughed and we got to talking and before I knew it I had spent an hour with him talking over tea and biscuits.)

Back to the present, Hugh laughs once more as he remembers my brief visit in 2016. We shook hands oce more and chatted a bit and then Hugh( who is in great shape for 72) brought me into the kitchen for some hot tea with his pure unprocessed goats milk and his wonderful honey right from his bees. We chatted about the recent fire that destroyed his barn, his mother’s upcoming 99th birthday, his grandson Ethan who is here helping him on the farm before he goes back to school in September. How people come by his house when they have problems with bees and how he likes being the local Bee Man as his father and grandfather were. He mentions he is part of the Kilkenny Bee Keepers Org and they have about 25 people come each year for a training but only about 1 keeps up with it after 2-3 years. Well after a delightful hour, Hugh sends me on my way with a jar of his honey and an uplifted spirit.
9FD017AC-BC48-4479-8963-8508A2CEE30F.jpeg
Hugh with his bees
 
St James' Way - Self-guided 4-7 day Walking Packages, Reading to Southampton, 110 kms
I have a soft spot for bee keepers. I took up bee keeping myself in my early teens, and was taught how it all worked by a long time retired geography teacher who refused to spend his days in a nursing home. Through his old contacts he had maneuvered himself into a position as caretaker of a run down property from a catholic school on the countryside.
He didn't actually take a lot of care of the building, but he could take care of his bees there, smoke cigars and sample the odd glass of mead. In short, he pottered along happily, and I pottered along with him on some weekends. He radiated an atmosphere of rhythm and calm, a quality he shared with a lot of other bee keepers. They aren't an easily agitated bunch.
My own attempts at bee keeping stopped after about three years: I got stung badly in the face seventeen times, for no apparent reason. After that, the bees made me a bit jumpy, so I slowly stopped showing up during weekends. But I fondly remember that old bee keeper, who had created his own little quiet universe and allowed me to visit and learn every now and then.
 
Walking The South Leinster Way; Carrick-on-Suir to Bunclody. Day 29-32:

While the scenery here is not as spectacular as The Beara, Kerry, and Dingle Ways, it is grand and there are no other hikers and the quiet is appreciated. But you are never truly alone in Ireland(like the Camino) and every now and then you meet one of the many treasures of Ireland:

The Bee Man of Piltown:

I left Carrick on Suir after a hearty Irish breakfast thinking it is day 29 of my pilgrimage and I am still in Tipperary. I love Tipperary but mentally it feels as if I am making little progress as I started in this county almost a month earlier. The morning walk is on paved roads and my energy is low. Then as I am walking north out of Piltown I realize that I am coming to the turnoff where Hugh Daniels( I walked from Dublin to Dursey Island in West Cork 2 years ago) lives. Around 11:00 I see his wife Valerie searching for something out front in her car and I greet her “Hello Valerie” and shake her hand and say “ Nice to see you again is Hugh at home”. She had no clue who I am but I feel Hugh will. So she sends me out back of the house and I find Hugh in back of the new metal barn with his bees and say “Hi! I'm back from Dursey Island” ( I walked Dublin to Dursey Island on the E8 in 2016 after celebrating 100 year anniversary of Irish Rebellion in Dublin on April 24. Hugh had a garden in his front yard and at the time he had a post with a yellow arrow pointing towards his front door. I could not pass that up and went and knocked on his front door. He answered and I asked if this was the South Leinster Way. He laughed and we got to talking and before I knew it I had spent an hour with him talking over tea and biscuits.)

Back to the present, Hugh laughs once more as he remembers my brief visit in 2016. We shook hands oce more and chatted a bit and then Hugh( who is in great shape for 72) brought me into the kitchen for some hot tea with his pure unprocessed goats milk and his wonderful honey right from his bees. We chatted about the recent fire that destroyed his barn, his mother’s upcoming 99th birthday, his grandson Ethan who is here helping him on the farm before he goes back to school in September. How people come by his house when they have problems with bees and how he likes being the local Bee Man as his father and grandfather were. He mentions he is part of the Kilkenny Bee Keepers Org and they have about 25 people come each year for a training but only about 1 keeps up with it after 2-3 years. Well after a delightful hour, Hugh sends me on my way with a jar of his honey and an uplifted spirit.
View attachment 44638
Hugh with his bees
I don't know why, but I thought you were well on your way to Santiago! maybe I will bump into you next week when I walk down along the Barrow Way! whatever, have a great time.
 
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I have a soft spot for bee keepers. I took up bee keeping myself in my early teens, and was taught how it all worked by a long time retired geography teacher who refused to spend his days in a nursing home. Through his old contacts he had maneuvered himself into a position as caretaker of a run down property from a catholic school on the countryside.
He didn't actually take a lot of care of the building, but he could take care of his bees there, smoke cigars and sample the odd glass of mead. In short, he pottered along happily, and I pottered along with him on some weekends. He radiated an atmosphere of rhythm and calm, a quality he shared with a lot of other bee keepers. They aren't an easily agitated bunch.
My own attempts at bee keeping stopped after about three years: I got stung badly in the face seventeen times, for no apparent reason. After that, the bees made me a bit jumpy, so I slowly stopped showing up during weekends. But I fondly remember that old bee keeper, who had created his own little quiet universe and allowed me to visit and learn every now and then.
sorry the bees got you. What a lovely image, the retired geography teacher, doing what pleased him. No pretensions. I'm green with envy.
Screen Shot 2018-07-19 at 14.28.01.png
 
I don't know why, but I thought you were well on your way to Santiago! maybe I will bump into you next week when I walk down along the Barrow Way! whatever, have a great time.
Haha. Yes i just passed Bordeaux but Iam behind in some of my posts. Hopefully will catch up by the time I reach Spain around 30 July.
 
I have a soft spot for bee keepers. I took up bee keeping myself in my early teens, and was taught how it all worked by a long time retired geography teacher who refused to spend his days in a nursing home. Through his old contacts he had maneuvered himself into a position as caretaker of a run down property from a catholic school on the countryside.
He didn't actually take a lot of care of the building, but he could take care of his bees there, smoke cigars and sample the odd glass of mead. In short, he pottered along happily, and I pottered along with him on some weekends. He radiated an atmosphere of rhythm and calm, a quality he shared with a lot of other bee keepers. They aren't an easily agitated bunch.
My own attempts at bee keeping stopped after about three years: I got stung badly in the face seventeen times, for no apparent reason. After that, the bees made me a bit jumpy, so I slowly stopped showing up during weekends. But I fondly remember that old bee keeper, who had created his own little quiet universe and allowed me to visit and learn every now and then.
That’s tough. As Hugh said Bee Keeping is tough. I just got stung inside my mouth after I took a drink of a coke without noticing the bee sharing with me.
 
St James' Way - Self-guided 4-7 day Walking Packages, Reading to Southampton, 110 kms

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