TV: The dragon boat heroes of Ireland

In recent years, a new phenomena has made a splash in the rivers and seas of Ireland.

Dragon boat racing clubs have been set up in places like Cork and Dublin, whose rowing crews are all made up of people who have been touched, directly or indirectly, by cancer.

They have become a great way for people to connect with each other and with nature out on the waterways, while boosting fitness levels in this most physical of sports and healing mind, body, and spirit.

A new Irish language documentary, Dragon Hearts, on RTÉ1 on Monday at 6.30pm, meets extraordinary members of these dragon boat racing clubs all over Ireland, including members of the Cork club.

A life-affirming programme, it is not just about sport and competition, but about survival, living with purpose, and finding joy - even in the toughest of times.

The documentary meets some of the many people who have taken up the sport in recent years.

From Dublin to Donegal, Carlow, Sligo, Mayo and Cork, these are ordinary people who have been brought together in the worst of circumstances, now bonded in competitive camaraderie, as they share their stories.

Dragon boat racing is an ancient Chinese sport with more than 2,000 years of history. But it is now also one of the fastest-growing water sports worldwide.

In the 1990s, it was trialled by researchers in Canada as a treatment for breast cancer survivors; it was shown to boost upper-body strength in breast cancer patients and survivors and, as a result, to improve 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 some of the Plurabelle Paddlers who first brought the sport to Ireland, and we meet members of some of the clubs they have supported nationally over the past decade, including Carlow Warriors, Medb’s Dragon Warriors in Sligo, the Gráinne Mhaol Dragon Boat Club in Mayo, and the Donegal Dragons.

With exquisite photography and glorious aerial and underwater footage, we follow men and women from these clubs through a season of training and racing.

As they battle it out at events across the country, the documentary chronicles their triumphs and tribulations, capturing moments of joy, pain, loss, and victory.

We watch them train tirelessly, compete fiercely, and support one another. Each stroke of the paddle carries meaning, not just in the physical sense.