1860s
As a young child, Catherine McCarthy Collins saw a swarm of bees in a bush on the way to mass and was instantly intrigued by them. She got her father to help her recover them and from that moment on, she had a lifelong interest in them and established Collins’ Honey. She stayed actively involved in the business, up to her death in the 1940s.
1900s
Her son, Timothy Collins learned the craft of bee-keeping from his mother and naturally decided to continue the family business because he was genuinely passionate about it. He kept many hives on the family farm and successfully ran the business, producing natural Irish honey up until his death in 1963.
1950s
Timothy’s son Jerry Collins continued the family tradition of producing honey and increased production of it, alongside his full time job as a dairy farmer. After his retirement in 1993, his hobby of bee-keeping became his focus and he decided to branch out into providing a new product - importing EU, single source, unblended honey from a group of small producers. Subsequently he changed the name from Collins’ Honey to Molaga Honey. He worked exclusively in the business, until his death in early 2022.
2020
Jerry’s son, Kevin took over and impressively, it is now a fourth generation business. He grew up watching his dedicated father skillfully nurture the bees, to produce and bottle the honey and what was previously a hobby for him has now become his primary focus. He is dedicated to his craft and has great plans to grow and scale the business, and has hired additional staff to keep up with demand for his honey. Kevin has high hopes that his own children will continue the long legacy of the family business into future generations.