History

SUIR DRAGON PADDLERS (SDP) 

All stories involve people and organizations, and without their cooperation and involvement, projects cannot come to pass. 

Our story began in 2012 with our founder Dr. Constantino “Tino” Fiuza-Castineira. He came across an article in the Newsletter of Europa Donna, describing how a group of Breast Cancer Survivors (BCS) had joined forces three years earlier to "get fit, enjoy the mutual support of team mates and raise awareness of breast cancer". (1)

The group were the Plurabelle Paddlers that formed Ireland’s first Survivorship programme. It was created for the community and run by the people who need it most and know what their needs are.

Tino was inspired and immediately started planning to set up something similar in Clonmel. Firstly he got the support of the local Cancer Centre(CARE). Secondly a place close to the river was facilitated through The Clonmel Rowing Club. After that all that was required was lots of money to buy a boat!!

This is where Catherine Phelan (Clonmel) and Hilda Laslett (Fethard), our brilliant fundraisers, came on board. We are so grateful for their generosity that made a dream for a boat and our club a reality.

A working group was established and a Chairperson was appointed. A list of people known to have gone through Breast Cancer was generated. We approached the Plurabelle Paddlers founder Fiona Tiernan (RIP), to get advice on how to proceed to achieve our goal.

Ready, ready off we go!

In the winter of 2012, the Suir Dragon Paddlers team of twenty got together under the guidance of retired Physiotherapist, Roisin Kiely to start getting fit, whilst awaiting the arrival of our first dragon boat. The first boat, The Lady Catherine, arrived in March 2013. 

The Clonmel Rowing Club became her home. The First weekend of April, at the same premises, we had a course to train 5 volunteers to steer the boat (helms). The Secretary of the Irish Dragon Boat Association, and Coach of the Plurabelle paddlers Julie Doyle delivered the course. The Local Civil Defence force came to deliver water-safety during our training. Friends came in, to power the boat and facilitate our schooling on the helm skills......and we were off!

Very soon we realized that sometimes we did not have enough numbers to power the boat, and a decision was made to invite "Non breast cancer" members to support us in our aims. The supporters group was born, all under the umbrella of the Clonmel Rowing Club. Time to grow and get stronger.

The following years saw us competing in National regattas in Athy, Carlow, Cork, and Dublin. International trips included the Breast Cancer Paddlers Commission events in Sarasota (Florida) 2014, Florence (Italy) 2018, and Henley Dragon Boat winter series, 2016 and 2017.

In 2014 we joined forces with the Plurabelle Paddlers, Cork Dragons and other Irish recruits (Belfast, Donegal and Carlow) to form TEAM IRELAND, that went to Sarasota to represent Ireland. This was the dream of Fiona Tiernan.

From the event in Sarasota, Lagan Dragons (Belfast) and Donegal Dragons were born. In 2017 we assisted in the creation of two teams in Limerick County: Shannon Dragons and Limerick Dragons.

In the years 2016-2018, we recruited members from Kilkenny (now Nore Dragons) and Waterford (Waterford Dragons) to form the "Three sisters". This was the teamthat went to Florence. Our training took place on the River Suir and River Nore. 

We also trained at Inniscarragh, with the support of Rowing Ireland, that enabled us to have longer sessions in preparation for Florence 2018.

Changes

Life changes and in 2019 we had a large recruitment drive to get new Breast Cancer members. We were working hard to reorganize what we already had, trying to include everyone involved and plan for the future. We had a series of meetings and came to the painful decision to split in two…… one team for breast cancer survivors and another for other non-breast cancer paddlers.

After two years of lockdown due to Covid-19, and not being able to paddle, we formed a new committee and went back to the water in October 2021.

We sold a boat to the Clonmel Rowing Club, so our “supporters” could continue paddling and expand their group.

Some bonding events were planned, starting with the participation in the Water Sports Inclusion weekend in Dromineer.

Where we are now, onwards and upwards

In January 2023 we became a registered charity. This was a great way to celebrate our TEN YEARS anniversary.

We bought a small 10 crew boat and attended an International Regatta in Barcelona and the First BCS regatta in Valladolid, Spain.

Both of these events allowed us to show our new found skills in the 10 crew boat - a very different experience to our larger boat.

In 2024 we attended a training camp in San Pedro del Pinatar, Murcia, Spain with 18 paddlers, focusing on developing our paddling technique, skills and strength.

In 2025 we went to The International Competition in Prague, where for the first time we competed in the 2Km race after many training sessions to prepare ourselves for the longer distance.

We had a number of fundraising events with the aim of raising money to attend the IBCPC International Dragon Boat Festival in Aix-Les-Bains, France in 2026.

This time we will be competing for the first time solely with paddlers from the Suir Dragon Paddlers. This is a real sign of our growth and development!

In 2026 we attended the San Pedro Camp once more with new recruits, and are currently training hard for IBCPC Festival in August 2026.

The last word...

Some people might think that our members were “unfortunate” to have been diagnosed with breast cancer but the truth is that the formation of this club has brought the opportunity for us to be fitter, healthier, and enjoy the magic of being on the water, great friendships and the support of a remarkable group of people.

We are really grateful to all the friends, companies, voluntary, community and statutory organizations that have supported us down through the years with guidance, training, funding and encouragement so that we can find the joy in this wonderful sport on the water and immersed in nature.

And so this brief history of the Suir Dragon Paddlers comes full circle by starting and finishing with our founder and coach Tino. “Thank you” for motivating, challenging, and inspiring us to be fitter, stronger, faster, healthier and live our best lives everyday.

Suir Dragon Paddlers (SDP) is a member of the Irish Dragon Boat Association (IDBA), which is the governing body of the sport of dragon boat racing in Ireland. The IDBA  is a member of both the European Dragon Boat Federation (EDBF) https://edbf.org and the International Dragon Boat Federation (IDBF) https://www.dragonboat.sport and the Irish Dragon Boat Association (IDBA) No. 3A https://www.dragonboat.ie.  You can get more information from these websites.

Paddles Up!!

(1). “Here be Dragons”. The story of the Plurabelle Paddlers, Ireland’s first dragon boat club