Sky the limit for Tullamore as balloons take off in advance of championships next month

TWO hot air balloons took to the skies from the Tullamore Show site on Wednesday evening in advance of the Irish Hot Air Ballooning Championships coming to the town next month.

Frank Meldon, championships director, revealed that the Town Park is likely to be one of three launch sites when the event takes place from Saturday, September 23 to Friday, September 29.

Balloons will also fly from Butterfield Estate, where the Tullamore Show was held last Sunday, and from a site at Ballard which is part of Charleville Estate.

Because of financial support from Offaly County Council, the championships, which attract international crews, will remain in the county after taking place at Birr Castle.

“It moves around all the time and last year was the third year in Birr and because we like to stir it up it became a question of where do we go. Thankfully the County Council were still offering to sponsor it if it stayed within the county.

“Tullamore is another location we love to fly in because ballooning was synonymous with Tullamore in the past at the Phoenix Festival.”

Tullamore's associations with the phoenix date from its reconstruction – rising from the ashes – after a hot air ballooning accident in 1785 resulted in a fire which destroyed part of the town.

Hot air ballooning was a centrepiece of the Phoenix Festival for about 10 years from 2001 onwards with flights taking place from the Town Park.

“You'd certainly get a couple of thousand people turning up and because it's so close to the town we're hoping for a similar experience.”

Last year's championships in Birr were the 50th and the Irish Ballooning Association attracted over 30 balloons because of the anniversary.

“This year it will probably go back to more normal numbers, 20 or 25 balloons, which is still a spectacular spectacle.”

Mr Meldon said the majority of balloonists travel from the UK, with Irish enthusiasts being the next biggest contingent, followed by crews from mainland Europe and a few from the United States.

“I'm flying for over 30 years myself and it's very exciting to be coming to Tullamore.”

“It's great to be part of bringing the hot air balloons back to Tullamore. It's a unique event,” said Cllr Harvey.

“Tullamore has a huge history with hot air balloons since the great fire many hundreds of years ago. They say it was the first balloon fire in history.

“Hopefully there will be a big crowd here and the council will have an event around it to celebrate them coming back to Tullamore.”

Jean Ryan, director of services, Tullamore Municipal District, said the council is backing the event through Offaly Tourism: “It's fantastic and it's great to see it back here and Tullamore Municipal District will support it.”

Ms Ryan hopes crowds similar to those seen in Birr will arrive in Tullamore. “From the success in Birr in recent years that's what we understand so hopefully people will be as keen to see them take off from Tullamore as well.”

The championships are also being sponsored by Tullamore Credit Union and former chair, Pat Doheny, flew in one of the balloons. A number of other representatives from the credit union also attended the launch.

Hot air ballooning is 100% dependent on the weather, according to the Irish Ballooning Association, and flights take place in the morning and evening only because it is then that winds are lightest.

The pilots obtain a full meteorological forecast before making the decision to take off and once airborne each balloon travels where the light breeze takes it.