Munster Express Online

Dear Sir

As you know the Irish Hot Air Ballooning championships here from September 21st to 26th. The weather was fantastic and flying took place every day. It was a great lift to the city coming on the back of a miserable summer and job losses, bank failures etc.

One of the UK teams broke down in Fishguard. Their Landrover developed a problem and they missed the early ferry. Arriving into Rosslare on the late crossing they immediately tried to get help and struggled to Wexford where they met up with Tom Maguire and Stephen Breen from Maguires Garage, Barntown. They could not fix the problem but put the jeep on their truck and towed the trailer all the way to the agents’ premises in Waterford and then dropped the team at their hotel. They refused to take any money for this very, very kind gesture on a Sunday. I have heard about going the extra mile but Wexford to Waterford is a bit further than that!

Another of the Balloon teams damaged their trailer in a reversing movement and seriously bent the trailer hitch. This trailer was immediately replaced by another balloonist in Waterford so that the week wasn’t spoiled. The damaged trailer was taken to Technaform in the Waterford Business Park (unit 218/219). The trailer took most of the week to fix and when Joseph Leahy went to pick it up Denis at Technoform said there was no charge. He said the balloons had been such a delight to see and brought such pleasure to the city he couldn’t take any money for using his workshops and expertise in fixing up the trailer.

A group of us had flown from Piltown and landed in Carrick-on-Suir on Wednesday evening. We were caught up in the Ploughing Championships traffic so we went into a pub, Tom Crokes in Carrick, run by Mrs Croke, the late Tom’s widow. There was no-one in this pub which is very, very old-worldly and like most pubs is suffering in these down times. We ordered a drink and got lovely pints (we had a no-drinking driver!) and another balloon team came in as well and ordered pints. One of this team is a diabetic and needs to eat regularly so the pilot asked the Landlady if she would make him a sandwich. ‘Of course’, she said and disappeared off into the back and came out with a very large basket of sandwiches for everyone…on the house!

Naturally we had another drink there but had to go away to a function in Waterford. The sandwiches were absolutely gorgeous: freshly and simply made. We arranged an event back in Carrick on Friday the 26th at this pub to repay the compliment but it was never expected or asked for in any way or form.

During the week we undertook a ‘Night Glow’ on the North Quays in Waterford city. This is an event where the balloons are erected after dark and illuminated to music and choreographed to provide a delightful spectacle: the balloons look like giant light-bulbs being switched on and off in the dark. We needed serious illumination to get set up and Clem Jacob from Waterford provided security fencing and high-powered lighting on the quays and refused to take payment, saying that it was such a boost to the city he was delighted to help.

Many farmers were visited by these balloons during the week in West Waterford, South Kilkenny and South Tipperary and with one exception there was a total generosity of support and excitement with the balloons landing in their fields and entering with vehicles to retrieve balloons.

The photographs are fabulous and the stories are legion. I am sending this to you in the hope that you might reprint it as a big, big thank you to the generosity of the Irish people which is not lost even in these hard times. It is wonderful to know that there are genuine people out there whose Irishness really is special. The many English, Scottish and American visitors were over the moon with the reception they received and commented on the openness and friendliness of the people of the Southeast which many thought had disappeared. We flew the American Ambassador and English Ambassador during the festival and they too were overawed by the whole event.

Oliver Lupton & Joe Daly