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festivals · Saturday 19 September 2026 · 7:00am 
Irish Hot Air Balloon Championships at Lough Key
At Lough Key Forest & Activity Park · Lough Key, Boyle, Co. Roscommon
At Lough Key Forest & Activity Park · Lough Key, Boyle, Co. Roscommon
The Irish Hot Air Balloon Championships return to Lough Key Forest and Activity Park outside Boyle from Saturday, 19 September to Friday, 25 September 2026, marking the 54th year of the national championships and the second time they have flown from Lough Key. Balloons launch across the week with flights planned for early morning around 7am and evening around 5pm, weather depending, filling the skies above the lake and forest park. The event is organised with Roscommon County Council, the Irish Ballooning Association and the Boyle Town Team, following a well received first year at the venue in 2025.
Competing balloonists fly set tasks across the week, with the low-lying lake and forest landscape around Lough Key giving both pilots and spectators a distinctive backdrop compared with more built-up championship venues elsewhere. Morning and evening flight windows mean there are two chances most days to see balloons take to the air, weather permitting, since ballooning is heavily dependent on calm conditions. The Irish Ballooning Association’s Frank Meldon described the reception from the 2025 debut as warm, with organisers now promising more colour and more community activity around the 2026 event. Detailed scheduling, ticketing and any ground activities for 2026 had not yet been published at the time of writing, so the loughkey.ie event page is the place to check as the week approaches. Expect the wider forest park, including its trails and playground, to be busier than usual through the championship week.
Boyle sits on the N4 Dublin to Sligo road, about 160km north-west of Dublin. Lough Key Forest & Activity Park is signposted off the N4 roughly 3km east of Boyle town centre, with parking on site. Bus Éireann’s Dublin to Sligo services stop in Boyle, though a taxi or lift is needed on to the park itself.
Boyle’s town centre has the ruins of Boyle Abbey and King House, a restored Georgian mansion, both an easy stop before or after a morning balloon launch at the park. There is more to see in Boyle and across Co. Roscommon.
Heading to Lough Key Forest & Activity Park in Boyle? Roscommon has plenty more to see. Read the Boyle area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.