The Irish Hot Air Balloon Championships

The Irish Hot Air Balloon Championships takes place each year in the last week of September for over 52 years visiting many different locations around the country. This is a unique and spectacular event featuring up to 30 Hot Air balloons and their crews from around the world.

In 2025 the event was held in Lough Key Forest Park, County Roscommon from the 20th to the 26th of September with the balloons flying twice daily (7am morning & 5pm evening) as the weather permitted creating an amazing and colourful spectacle for all to see as the balloons inflate and fly overhead.

Launch Site

The balloons will be launched from Lough Key Forest Park

Typical Flight Tasks

Hare and Hounds
This involves a single balloon flying away first (the 'hare') and the remaining balloons follow the hare balloon, who will be doing their best to find winds to make the task more difficult for the chasing pack. The winner will be the balloon that either lands nearest or drops their 'marker' nearest the landed hare balloon.

Fly-in task
This will involve the nomination and placement of a target area. The balloon teams will then be sent off to find their own launch site locations a pre-specified distance (Usually 5 KM!) away from the target area. The pilots will then use their skill to fly towards the target area using the minimal steerage offered by winds at different heights.

Long Distance Competition
Throughout the week, a competition will be run where a prize is awarded to the balloon team that manages to fly the furthest throughout the week's event.

Overall Winning Team

At the end of the week one Balloon & Crew are chosen as the overall competition winner. This is not necessarily the team that wins the most tasks but more likely to be the team that demonstrates and promotes the event values of fun and friendship.