Supercars, helicopters delight Edenderry as Cannonball rolls through town

Cannonball, the supercar fundraiser spectacle, blasted off from Johnstown Estate and came to Edenderry at 11am on Friday September 6, to the delight of school children and spectators who gathered in their thousands to see the event.

Cannonball, fuelled by milesPLUS from Circle K, is the largest organised road trip in Europe featuring the finest cars on the planet, from Ferrari, Lamborghini and McLaren to Porsche, Aston Martin, and Maserati.

Cannonball has already raised €1,638,432 for Irish charities to date and is a widely anticipated annual free family event.

It is renown for its unique festival atmosphere, with Brazilian dancers, giant screens, music and fanfare bringing all the glamour of carnival and live DJs, bands and festivals to host towns.

The 'Cannonballers' in colourful costumes, from Catwoman to Wonder Woman, Shreck to Gru, Minions to Marios, cheerleaders to Charlie’s Angels, Batman to the Joker, also add to the melee.

The 2024 event brought 200 magnificent supercars, helicopters, and celebrities including British racing driver and Lewis Hamilton’s brother Nicholas, Swedish motorbike stunt rider Sara Aydin, and Radio Nova's PJ Gallagher and Jim McCabe.

In addition, the brand-new Lamborghini Revoulto was unveiled in Ireland for the very first time and, this year, the sky was the limit for Cannonball as helicopters circled overhead.

On Friday September 6, the convoy departed Johnstown Estate at 10am and thrilled Edenderry children and spectators with a lap of the town before blazing a trail to Kilkenny for lunch at the Lyrath Estate Hotel.

The first finish line was on Wexford Quay Front on Friday evening at 6.30pm, where the cars were on display. On Saturday September 7, the convoy travelled on to Powerscourt Hotel Resort in Enniskerry for lunch, with the finish line that day at Salthill, Galway.

On Sunday, September 8, the supercars left Galway at 11am and then fueled up at Circle K M6 Athlone at noon, before taking lunch in at Lough Rynn Castle Estate Leitrim at 1pm.

The big dramatic final finish line for Cannonball 2024 was in Trim, Meath, at 5pm.

This year the official charity of Cannonball was The Jack and Jill Children's Foundation - an Irish children’s charity that funds and provides up to 100 hours per month of in-home nursing care, respite support and end-of-life care for children from birth to six years of age with severe learning disability often associated with complex medical needs.

This year, in addition to all of Cannonball fundraising activities, Circle K ran a nationwide campaign entitled, "When you fill, support Jack and Jill". This campaign will see 1 cent from every litre of miles and milesPLUS fuel sold at Circle K donated to the Foundation.

Cannonball was founded by Kildare businessman Alan Bannon and the benefit to the host towns for this event is estimated at €2,567,000 per year.

For more photos from the Cannonball event in Edenderry, see tomorrow's Offaly Independent.