The 54th Irish Hot Air Ballooning Championships are taking place in Boyle, Co Roscommon, this week and hundreds of spectators have gathered to catch a glimpse.
One ambitious ballooning pilot, Doug Hoddinott, spoke to RTÉ News about his attempt to break the Guinness World Record with his giant suitcase-shaped hot air balloon, which took to the skies yesterday evening.
His target is to surpass the record of a balloon flying in 20 different countries over the span of 365 days.
The internal volume of his balloon is the equivalent of 25 double-decker buses.
Doug Hoddinott’s suitcase-shaped hot air balloon
Mr Hoddinott is currently at his fifth location in Ireland, and will be leaving for France following this leg of his tour to keep going with his attempt – as he plans to break the record by November. The Bristol native began his excursion in August.
“I’m flying basically every day. It’s quite special to be here in Ireland with the record because of the championships too,” he said.
The championships are being held in Lough Key Forest park until 25 September
Community is at the centre of these championships, as many pilots and balloonists have been meeting at the annual event for a long time and have grown up with the sport.
Cavan woman Carol Davis has been ballooning since she was seven years old, and has passed the hobby down to her children, with her son Mark now a commercial ballooning pilot in Canada.
He has come home for the ballooning championships in Boyle.
This is also a special place for Ms Davis, as she got her ballooning licence in Lough Key back in 1990, as the championship was held in the Roscommon park until 1994.
She said: There’s a real sense of freedom about it because you’re just floating on the breeze – wherever the wind takes you. It’s as close to flying as a bird that you can get!”
The sport covers all ages, as even 11-year-old Evie Rose O’Rourke is already setting her sights on her pilot licence.
She is currently logging hours with her father Brendan O’Rourke who is from Meath and is a ballooning pilot, but she will not be able to attain her licence until she is 17 years of age.
11-year-old Evie Rose O’Rourke in her hot air balloon
Evie said: “With ballooning, you never have the same story. It’s always something different with every flight. It’s wonderful each time”.
The Irish Hot Air Ballooning Championships are being held in Lough Key Forest park until Friday, 25 September with both morning and evening flights scheduled each day, weather dependent.