Irish Ballooning Association

IT’S HAPPENING!!!

The 50th Irish Hot Air Ballooning Championships will be taking place in Birr, Co Offaly, from Saturday 24th to Friday 30th September 2022.

We are absolutely delighted to announce that the Champs will be taking place this year, it has been way too long for all involved since we were able to be together and celebrate everything hot air ballooning. So much so, and in celebration of our 50th event, we have added an extra day this year - we will be in Birr from the Saturday pm (instead of the Sunday) and, weather permitting as always, ready to take to the skies.

As always, this event wouldn’t be possible without our brilliant sponsors - Offaly Tourism, Grant Engineering and Birr Castle and Science Centre. Thank you!

More details will follow nearer to the event such as times, more information on ballooning, weather information and updates but, our launch site will once again be the beautiful grounds of Birr Castle and Science Centre. We are still in the planning stages and as soon as we have event information we will post it on the Irish Hot Air Ballooning page, there will be no need to message us, we will make sure that all the information you need will be publicly available, when it is available - if you can’t see it, it’s because we’ve not announced it yet. Unfortunately, flights for members of the public are not available during the Champs, flying is purely for fun by private balloonists only and so flights are not able to be purchased.

Just a little reminder that ballooning is totally dependent on the weather and we will only fly if it is suitable and safe to do so. We understand that some of you will want to travel some distance to see the balloons but, until around an hour (or even sometimes less) before the scheduled flight time, we will NOT be able to confirm if any flight will be going ahead and cannot ever advise on whether any travel should be undertaken. This can be very disappointing but, unfortunately, there is just nothing we can do about this aspect of ballooning. However, you have got 9 months to start your prayers to the weather gods…..!

Look forward to seeing you all soon!