Latest News

Hocus Pocus For Dóchas is back and its even bigger and better than 2025.
#Halloween #HocusPocus🎃 LOOKING FOR SOMETHING SPOOKTACULAR TO DO THIS HALLOWEEN? 👻

Hocus Pocus for Dóchas is BACK – and bigger than ever!

Kindly and generously sponsored by Colton Motors

Join us this Halloween Day – Saturday, 31st October – at Lough Boora Discovery Park for a fantastic morning of family fun, all while supporting Dóchas Offaly Cancer Support Group.

🏃‍♂️ 5km Family Fun Run/Walk
🎭 Live Halloween Actors
🪄 Magician
🎧 DJ
🎃 Halloween Games
⚡ Beat the Drop
🧚 Storytelling in Fairy Avenue
🏅 Branded medal for EVERY participant
🍬 Trick or Treat bag for EVERY child

PLUS prizes for Best Dressed Child, Adult & Family! 🏆

Registration opens from 9.30am, with our 5km Fun Run/Walk starting at 11am.

Walk it. Run it. Dress up. Bring the family. And start your Halloween with a morning to remember!

🎟️ Places are limited – register now:
willwego.com/tickets/dochas-offaly/1

Every registration helps Dóchas continue supporting people affected by cancer and their families. 💛

Hocus Pocus for Dóchas 2026
📅 Saturday, 31st October
📍 Lough Boora Discovery Park

Hocus Pocus for Dóchas 2026 ... See MoreSee Less

We are delighted to have Baz and the DIY SOS: The Big Build Ireland team at Lough Boora today. 🙂🏡

‘DIYSOS: The Big Build Ireland’ is currently filming in Coolagary, Walsh Island, Offaly!

Baz and the team will be in Offaly from Tuesday 1st September to Thursday 10th September to rally the troops to help Noah & the Harte Family.

Noah’s Story:

The Harte family live in Walsh Island, Coolagary in Offaly. Damien, a proud Offaly native, and Hazel, a Dublin “blow-in", are raising three wonderful children - each with their own unique personality and varying levels of autism. Ollie, the eldest, is the family chatterbox, delighting everyone with fascinating facts about his favourite subjects. Meadow, the youngest, was only recently diagnosed and approaches life with confidence and charm.

Noah is 6. Alongside his autism diagnosis, he has Global Developmental Delay and an intellectual disability. He is non-verbal and experiences significant emotional dysregulation, with daily meltdowns that can be deeply distressing for him and those around him. During these episodes, Noah screams in a high-pitched tone and often covers his own ears in anguish. Meadow instinctively covers hers too, and Ollie finds these moments particularly upsetting. Sleep is a constant struggle for Noah, and he is currently on a mood stabilising medication. It was never a path his parents wanted to take, but when Noah began self-harming, they had no choice. On several occasions, they have had to bring him to A&E to ensure he had not fractured or broken bones.

Noah has no awareness of danger. He does not respond to his name and is at constant risk of running off without warning. For his safety, he relies on a buggy during outings - a solution that is becoming increasingly unsustainable as he grows taller and stronger. Following professional guidance from Noah’s psychologist, the family purchased their home in the hope of creating a stable, supportive environment. Unfortunately, progress has been slow. Every step forward seems to be followed by multiple setbacks - leaks, structural complications, and constant repairs.

The house itself presents daily challenges. It is a cold, G-rated property plagued by damp and mould. The layout simply does not work for a family with complex sensory and emotional needs. They urgently need more space - space to regulate, to decompress, to feel safe - and, most importantly, space to support Noah as he grows into adulthood.

This is where DIY SOS: The Big Build Ireland steps in… with your help!

Together, we can transform this house into a safe, sensory haven - a home that gives Noah the space to regulate, the security to thrive, and the chance of a safer, brighter future.

Come on The Faithful County! #DIYSOSIRL 💚🤍💛

#SOS #bigbuild #Offaly ... See MoreSee Less

🌿 WHERE THE SAUNA MEETS THE BOG 🔥

Escape the week and slow things down at Lough Boora.

Every Thursday night, step into the warmth of the sauna and leave the outside world behind. Surrounded by the unique landscape of Ireland’s peatlands, it’s a place to breathe, unwind and reconnect with nature.

🔥 Warmth
🌿 Peatland views
🌙 Thursday night calm
🧖‍♀️ Time to switch off

Come for the sauna, stay for the stillness.

Thursday nights at Lough Boora your weekly escape into the bog. ... See MoreSee Less

Bike hire will remain open for 7 days for the coming week.
Check out Mid Ireland Adventure Tours , The Sauna at Lough Boora ,
and Ballycommon Bake House social media for updates on opening days.
Thanks to everyone that supported our service providers over the summer ☀️.
@topfansA little change to our Lough Boora opening hours 🍂

After a busy summer of being open 7 days a week, with the schools heading back and summer coming to an end, we’re making a little change to our opening days at Lough Boora.

For the next while, we’ll be open 5 days a week: Wednesday to Sunday 10am-4pm

A huge thank you to everyone who called in over the summer and kept us busy 🤎

We’ll keep you updated here with any further changes to our opening days as we move into autumn.

Ballycommon is still Wednesday to Sunday ☺️ ... See MoreSee Less