Coming Soon To Skies Near You.....
50th Irish Hot Air Ballooning Championships
IT HAPPENED AND WHAT A WEEK IT WAS!
The 50th Irish Hot Air Ballooning Championships took place in Birr, Co Offaly, from Saturday 24th to Friday 30th September 2022.
2023 INFORMATION COMING SOON......
More details will follow nearer to the event such as location, times, more information on ballooning, weather information and updates etc. 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 Championships page on Facebook, 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. Our dedicated Champs page on this website will also be able to provide you with some important information but will not be updated with specific information for each years event.
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!
THIS SITE ONLY CONTAINS GENERAL INFORMATION REGARDING THE CHAMPIONSHIPS, ANY/ ALL UPDATES AND SPECIFIC INFORMATION YOU NEED CLOSER TO THE EVENT, ABOUT THE EVENT, WILL BE PUT ON OUR FACEBOOK PAGE - IRISH HOT AIR BALLOONING CHAMPIONSHIPS.
PLEASE LIKE/ FOLLOW THE FACEBOOK PAGE TO MAKE SURE YOU GET ALL OF OUR UPDATES. ONLY THE PAGE ITSELF (NOT THE EVENT, THIS IS CREATED JUST FOR DATE AND GENERAL INFORMATION PURPOSES) WILL BE UPDATED WITH INFORMATION SUCH AS LAUNCH LOCATIONS AND FLY/ NO FLY DECISIONS, THE MAIN IBA PAGE AND EVENT WITHIN THE PAGE WILL NOT BE UPDATED.
Birr Castle Gardens and Science Centre
2022 Championships - Main Launch Location
In 2018 and 2019 we were very kindly supported by Birr Castle Demesne as our main launch location and are very pleased to announce that we will once again be using this beautiful launch location for the 2022, 50th Meet.
Created over generations, Birr Castle Demesne is an environmental and scientific time capsule, a living breathing evolving place of beauty and inspiration. We welcome you to visit one of Ireland’s most extraordinary places, open 362 days of the year. Explore the Science Galleries, marvel at the famous Great Telescope, stroll through 120 acres of gardens and parklands and climb the Tallest Treehouse in Ireland.
Please see www.birrcastle.com for more information.
Calor Gas
2022 Championships - Sponsor
Once again we would like to thank Calor Gas for their sponsorship and support for The 50th Irish Hot Air Ballooning Championships - the fabric part of a hot air balloon (the envelope) holds hot air in order to make them airborne but, the air inside the envelope has to be kept hot during the flight and this is done by burning propane, a combustible gas that’s used as fuel via special tanks, hoses and the balloon burners.
Calor Gas is the leading supplier of LPG in Ireland.
Switch to Calor for your central heating, cooking and fuel needs.
Grant Engineering
2022 Championships - Sponsor
Grant Engineering is one of Irelands leading heating technology manufacturers. Grant’s core focus as a company is to provide reliable, innovative, eco-friendly solutions to the problem of rising energy costs and CO2 emissions, in the hope of providing a greener future for generations to come.
Grant Engineering is committed to having a positive impact on the environment on both a local level and further afield. The company is also a major employer in the Republic of Ireland and is delighted to be involved in the 50th Annual Hot Air Ballooning Championships.
Offaly County Council
2022 Championships - Sponsors
Offaly County Council, as the Local Authority for Offaly, provides an extensive range of infrastructural services, and plays an active role in the development of the county’s industry, business, social, arts, heritage and cultural affairs. It also functions as the regulatory body for certain matters at local level.
Offaly County Council are delighted to welcome the Annual Hot Air Ballooning Championships back to Offaly for a third year running and hope that the Championships are even more successful in 2022.
Tourism is an important part of Offaly County Council’s remit and they welcome visitors from far and wide to the beautiful heritage town of Birr.
Offaly at the heart of Ireland, really is the ‘ hidden gem’ of the country. It welcomes the visitor to enormous tracts of wilderness, expanses of bogland, a vast mountain park, esker hills and deep wooded valleys with their streams and rivers. From the Slieve Bloom Mountains to Lough Boora Discovery Park and from the sparkling waters of the River Shannon to the peaceful stillness of the Grand Canal – they’ve got so much to show you!
Further information on attractions, activities & events can be found on www.visitoffaly.ie #visitoffaly
Westland Horticulture
2022 Championships - Sponsors
Westland have very kindly sponsored our balloon Spotters Guides for this year - these will be available from various locations during the Championships and contain information on all of the balloons taking part.... how many can you spot in the air?
Westland is a market leader in our categories. We supply a wide range of gardening, bird and pet care as well as environmental products to the retail market. Innovation and brands are at the heart of everything we do aligned with significant local and international growth.
Westland have big aspirations, whether that’s bringing an abundance of different bird varieties into your garden – with all the advice, food and the essentials you’ll need or growing from seed for the very first time. Ensuring that your favourite roses aren’t damaged by those unfortunate pests or making sure that all the love and attention you gave to your lawn last year doesn’t go to waste.
Westland know the right tools for the right job with everything a gardener needs in their tool shed, from propagation to digging tools, watering to weeding – Westland have it covered.
About Us
Who We Are
The Irish Ballooning Association is affiliated to the National Aero Club of Ireland, the Federation Aeronautique Internationale and the Commission Internationale d' Aerostation. The CIA is the international governing body of ballooning.
As the representative body for hot air ballooning in Ireland, the IBA handles the selection process for International competitions and supervises the National Ballooning Championships which has now been running for over 40 years.
Championships Questions
FAQ’s
Please DO NOT use the ”Contact Us” option for general questions regarding the Championships. Any/ all information you need (that is currently available) regarding the Champs - INCLUDING HOW & WHERE YOU CAN SEE THE BALLOONS/ TICKETS/ WEATHER ETC - is on our Champs page on this site or, on our Facebook page (Irish Hot Air Ballooning Championships). Unfortunately, questions submitted via the contact us relating to previously supplied information, information on dates, times, locations, how to see the balloons etc. or information already on this website/ our Facebook page will not be responded to, please use either of the above options.
We will be unable to respond to any queries requesting fly/ no fly decisions information prior to our posts, nor advise or recommend, in advance of the outcome of the Pilots Briefing, whether any travel should be undertaken in order to view a launch. If your query is regarding launch locations/ times/ balloon locations/ weather updates etc. (all the info you need during the event), this information will be posted on the main Irish Hot Air Ballooning Championships Facebook page for everyone to see, we hope you will understand but, we will NOT be able to respond to individual questions regarding these aspects.
IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO PROVIDE FLIGHTS TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC DURING THE WEEK OF THE CHAMPIONSHIPS NOR CAN WE PROVIDE ADVICE ON HOW TO EXPERIENCE A HOT AIR BALLOON FLIGHT.