VIDEO: Gardai called as swarm of bees suddenly descends on Clara

Clara was abuzz around lunchtime today (Tuesday) when a large swarm of bees suddenly appeared in the centre of town.

The Gardai had to be called in to assist when the bees settled on the window of a car outside St Brigid's Credit Union on Church Street.

There was also a separate gathering of the bees on a permanent bollard on the street.  

This was surely one of the more unusual calls the local Gardai have responded to in recent times, but they cordoned off an area of the street and contacted the Offaly Beekeeping Association, who sent respresentatives to come and take the bees away. 

Shortly after 2pm, a local Garda confirmed to the Offaly Indepedent that the bees had been removed and all was back to normal again. 

"I don't know where they came from or why they chose Clara, but they're all gone now," the Garda told us. "It was a bit of excitement anyway!"

The Credit Union branch, which is closed for lunch between 1 and 2pm as part of its new opening hours during Covid-19, was not affected by the surprise visitors on its doorstep. 

In a post on its Facebook page, the credit union said it had been "a beesy day here at our Clara branch, with a swarm of bees gathering around a parked car outside."

Yvonne Healy of the credit union branch said she started noticing the bees at around 11.30 today. 

"I thought I was seeing things at first!" she said. "There was an awful lot of them, so we made sure to close the windows!

"But it was very interesting to watch the beekeepers work. They are very skilled, and they were here removing the bees for a good half an hour."

Photo by Yvonne Healy

The credit union also thanked the Gardai for cordoning off the area and arranging the safe removal of the bees. 

"Thankfully nobody, nor no bee, was hurt!" said the branch.