Ballooning has been popular in Ireland since 1784, and this summer sees growing numbers of enthusiasts taking to the sky – weather permitting, of course, writes CLAIRE O'CONNELL
SPOT QUESTION: when did Ireland’s love affair with ballooning take off? A century ago? Further back – the 1800s? Try 1784, when the early “balloonatics” started experimenting here, within months of the hot-air balloon being invented in France.
That April, a Mr Rousseau captivated a profoundly silent crowd in Navan as he launched himself skywards to the sound of of a 10-year-old drummer boy who accompanied him in the basket, beating the Grenadier's Marchso that the mesmerised audience could keep track of the flight.
The following year, though, ballooning in Ireland hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons – in what was possibly the world’s first aviation disaster, a hot-air balloon crashed into a barrack chimney in Tullamore, Co Offaly. The accident started a fire that ruined a street in the town centre, reportedly destroying more than 100 houses. But the town went on to make its peace with the aircraft, becoming home to the Swedish Colting balloon factory in the mid-1970s.
And, more recently, the Celtic Tiger gave ballooning in Ireland something of a lift, says Joseph Leahy, who pilots the Meath Heritage balloon. “When I started ballooning in 1990 there were only three balloons in Ireland,” he recalls. “Now there are about 12 private pilots and two commercial-ride operations.”
But while hot-air balloons may be on the up here, our weather can still present a few downers. Wind and rain are the enemies of getting these majestic craft airborne, explains Leahy.
“Ballooning is totally weather-dependent – if you take my balloon, it is 90 to 100ft [27-30m] high and 60ft [18m] wide, so it’s like a giant sail. You can only fly it in reasonably light wind conditions of 10 knots or less,” he says.
And when the heavens open up, balloons stay down. “Because the balloon [envelope] has such a large surface area and it’s nylon, if you pour water over the whole of that fabric it’s very heavy – the equivalent of having maybe another two people in the basket. You would find it harder to keep the balloon in the air.”
But, despite the prospect of rain and wind cancelling play, ballooning remains a fixture at many festivals here, and the Irish amateur championships each September attract not only local but international enthusiasts too. Why?
“Ireland is a fantastic country to fly over in a balloon, and you meet wonderful people,” says Leahy, who is president of the Irish Ballooning Association. “For me, ballooning is half about floating over the countryside, but the other half is about the people you meet along the way. We meet fantastic farmers and people out in the country, and you end up in all sorts of places you would normally never end up in.”
On one occasion a dawn flight ended near a farm, remembers Leahy. “We walked up a laneway at eight in the morning and the farmer’s wife brought us in for tea and home-made apple tarts. So there we were, four complete strangers in her sitting room, and she said ‘make yourselves another cup of tea, I have to go and drop the breakfast up to my mother-in-law’ – and off she went, leaving us in charge of her house. Where else would you get that but in Ireland?” he says.
And he views his involvement in ballooning as a privilege. “You see people at their best. I have yet to take someone up for a balloon ride who hasn’t been in great form afterwards and really enjoyed the experience; there’s a great positive energy. And when you get the bug it does take over your life.”
One person who caught the bug is Pauline Baker. Fifteen years ago she spotted an orange hot-air balloon passing her house and on a whim she chased it, weaving through Meath backroads in her jeep. When the pilot landed she wangled a flight and that was it. “I was completely hooked,” she says.
Fast-forward to today and Baker has set nine world records and holds 95 Irish titles for ballooning. She has soared to a chilly 22,000ft (6,700m) over the Alps and found herself in life-threatening turbulence while setting a duration record in Italy.
But things are a little tamer in her day job as operations director of Irish Balloon Flights, which offers commercial trips all year round. And, despite having years of piloting under her belt, Baker is still awed by the sensation of balloon flying. “On a clear day the visibility up there is amazing. It’s not like being in an aeroplane; you are open to the elements; you are being carried by the breeze. You get a 360-degree view and loads of time to see everything because you are going so slowly. At 1,500 feet [457m], from Trim you can see the Cooley Mountains in Dundalk and the ships coming in to Dublin Port,” she says, adding that an infectious enthusiasm radiates from passengers as they gear up to soar hundreds of metres in the air.
“I’m very lucky in that I am working at my hobby, which means it’s not like work at all. I can remember my first flight vividly, every second of it. And I know when I am going out to meet the passengers, they are so excited about it, too.”
Where to go ballooning
Hot-air ballooning is scheduled for this weekend's Phoenix Festival in Tullamore– all places aboard are booked but you can still witness the spectacle (weather permitting, of course) of a balloon launch at 7pm on Friday and a "glow show" on Saturday at 11pm. www.phoenixfestival.ie.
Ballooning is also planned for the Muckno Mania Festival in Castleblayney, Co Monaghan on Saturday evening and Sunday morning. www.mucknomania.ie.
Flights are also planned for Clonmel, Co Tipperaryon August 28th-30th. For details, e-mail info@ballooningireland.ie.
For commercial flights, see www.balloonflights.ie and www.balloons.ie.
If you are grounded due to weather or finances, a trip to Belfast's W5science and discovery centre might keep the mood up. Its small summer exhibition Wind, Wings and Waves offers a chance to launch miniature hot-air balloons indoors by jacking up the temperature, while other exhibits allow you to test your skill at manoeuvring aircraft and working out how to streamline designs. The other, permanent exhibitions at W5 are always worth a visit. W5 is at Belfast's Odyssey; for directions, opening times and prices see www.w5online.co.uk.
