Irish Ballooning Championships in Birr this month

The 50th annual Irish Ballooning Championships will take place at Birr Castle from Saturday, September 24 to Friday, September 30.

Event Director Carol Davis said it won't be as big an event as they'd hoped it would be in 2020 before the annual Championships had to be cancelled for 2 years due to the pandemic. Ms Davis is expecting 30 balloons to take to the skies for the exciting event.

It's a very weather dependent sport subject to strict weather conditions so organisers are hoping for calm, dry weather in order for the balloons to be able to fly.

Ms Davis added: If we get four, five or six flights in the week we'll be happy.”

The public are actively encouraged to come out and see the balloons as they launch. The balloons will make a spectacular display in the skies over Birr.

Pilots will participate in a briefing with the Championships Director prior to each planned flight around 6:30am and 4:30pm where a fly/ no fly decision will be made. They aim to be in the air at 7:30am however, this time may vary by an hour or so depending on the weather each morning.

The ballooning event is ticketed so pre-booking is essential. Tickets cost €6 and are available from birrcastle.com/events.

The Irish Hot Air Ballooning Championship is the longest running National ballooning event in the world with the first event held in 1971 at Newcastle House in Ballymahon. The annual event was previously held in Birr in 2018 and 2019.