Dragon Hearts, an inspiring and emotional documentary following members of Ireland’s dragon boat racing community, brought together not just by sport, but by their shared experience with cancer will air on Monday 21st April, 6.30pm on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player.

From Dublin to Donegal, Sligo to Cork, the documentary meets men and women who have turned adversity into strength, paddling not just for victory but for survival. Dragon Hearts captures their passion, pain, joy and resilience across a full season of training and racing. What sets these paddlers apart from other clubs is that many have been touched, directly or indirectly, by the dreaded Big C.

“People can tell you many things about living and dying, but when you are faced with it, the majority of people will say ‘let me live’. And I choose to live.” 

Mark O’Connor is one of the founding members of the Cork Dragon Boat Club, a rowing club with a difference. His words are echoed by hundreds of dragon boat club members all over Ireland; men and women who, week in week out, take to the lakes, rivers and sea to participate in a truly unique sport. Ordinary people brought together in the worst of circumstances, now bonded in competitive camaraderie by this unique sport, each share their stories.

Dragon boat racing is an ancient Chinese sport with over 2000 years of history, but it is now also one of the fastest-growing water sports worldwide. The sport was trialed by researchers in Canada in the 1990’s as a treatment for breast cancer survivors; the sport was shown to boost upper-body strength in breast cancer patients and survivors and, as a result, to improve their psychological wellbeing and overall medical outcomes.

In Ireland, the first dragon boat club was set up in 2010 in Dublin. Dragon Hearts introduces viewers to members of the Plurabelle Paddlers, who first brought the sport to Ireland. The documentary also features members of some of the clubs the Plurabelle Paddlers have supported nationally over the past decade, including the Carlow Warriors, Medb’s Dragon Warriors in Sligo, the Gráinne Mhaol Dragon Boat Club in Mayo, and the Donegal Dragons. Men and women from each of these clubs offer an insight into a season of training and racing during the documentary.

As they battle it out at events around the country, Dragon Hearts chronicles their triumphs and tribulations, capturing moments of joy, pain, loss, and victory as they train tirelessly, compete fiercely, and support one another. Each stroke of the paddle carries meaning, not just in the physical sense, but as a marker of each rower’s individual battle with breast cancer.

Dragon Hearts will air on Monday April 21st, 6:30pm on RTÉ One & RTÉ Player. 

-ENDS- 

Date: 16 April 2025

RTÉ Communications: Éadaoin Nic Giolla Chomhaill