Beautiful balloons to float over Irish skies

The Irish Hot Air Ballooning Championships will take place in Tullamore at the end of September.

The Irish Ballooning Association says the skies above Tullamore will be filled with the beautiful sight of dozens of hot air balloons.

“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 Tullamore so bring your camera. The attraction of so many balloons flying can be mesmerizing, so we issue a note of caution to be mindful of traffic and road users while enjoying the spectacle!

“It is not possible to provide flights to the public during the week however it is a fun, social event for everyone’s enjoyment so get your cameras ready and record your favourite shots for the album.

“Ballooning is 100% weather [dependent] and subject to quite strict weather conditions; it’s not always possible to tell if the weather is suitable without a full meteorological forecast which we obtain just prior to planning any flight. If it’s flyable, we will fly, if a no-fly decision is made, it is done so for very good reasons and with the safety of everyone involved at the forefront of the decision-making. Until the flight briefing, we will be unable to confirm if a flight will go ahead or not,” he said.

Weather permitting, the first flights will be on the evening of Saturday, September 23, with further flights each morning and evening up to Friday, September 29.

Last year's event took place in Birr Castle.