Beekeeper of the year 2001 - Mr Bob Shaw

Bob Shaw is, without doubt, the best known and the best loved beekeeper in Ulster. He has taught beekeeping to more people in Northern Ireland and, perhaps in all of Ireland than anyone else. He has sown the seeds of beekeeping in the minds of hundreds, perhaps thousands of school children by his talks to schools. His first adult class was in Ballynahinch in 1979, where he had a class of seventy eight, and an overflow class in Downpatrick of a further thirty six. He has since taught in Belfast, Kilkeel, Enniskillen, Cookstown and Greenmount.

His first beekeeping association was Lisburn, then he moved to Belfast and finally, he helped to establish Dromore & District Beekeeping Association, where he was secretary for many years. Dromore made him an honorary life member, following his vision and industry in establishing the first association apiary and bee observatory in Ireland. Indeed, each of the other eight associations in Northern Ireland, now has such a facility, modelled on Bob’s prototype and part funded by Leader II.

Bob has been active in UBKA affairs for many years and has held the post of President.

He has been a very successful exhibitor of honey, winning prizes at Dromore, Belfast, Gormanston and at the National Honey Show in London.

As a Thorne agent, Bob supplied equipment far and wide. He helped his customers, and anyone else who was in trouble, with their beekeeping.

In 1967 Bob bought plans for a national hive from H.M. Stationary Office to make his first hive, bought a nucleus of bees from Carter Johnston and enrolled for a course at Gormanston. The rest is history!

A very worthy winner of the 2001 Ulster Beekeepers' Association Beekeeper of the Year.