Local Donegal women will be paddling onto our TV screens this New Year in a heartfelt documentary about dragon boat racing.
‘Dragons’, coming soon to RTE, will tell the story of unique boating clubs across the country.
The Donegal Dragons are set to feature as the programme hears the personal journeys of members from clubs in Donegal, Sligo, Cork, Carlow, Galway and Dublin across a racing season.
Dragon Boating racing is for everyone, but is of particular benefit to survivors of breast cancer. After surgery for breast cancer, the lymph nodes are often removed. As a result, even if a woman completely recovers from breast cancer, she can be left with a condition called lymphodema. It causes the affected arm to swell up and is uncomfortable. Exercising the upper body has emerged as a successful method for women to avoid lymphoedema and enjoy active, full lives.
The late Fiona Tiernan set up Ireland’s first dragon boat racing team for breast cancer survivors in Dublin, called the Plurabelle Paddlers, in 2010.
Because of Fiona’s legacy, the sport is now practised in Dragon Boat clubs the length and breadth of Ireland.
The Donegal Dragons was founded in 2015 by cancer survivor Deborah Bonner. Deborah learned about the sport from Donegal manager Jim McGuinness, who spoke of fitness and breast cancer at a Relay for Life event.
The sport involves crews of up to 16 people sitting in pairs in “dragon” boats: large canoe-like vessels fitted with ornately carved dragons’ heads and tails and competing in races over 250m.
While we don’t have a premiere date for the documentary on RTE just yet, Dragons is expected to be on our screens later in the spring.
