News

Four new helms for the Plurabelles

On Sunday 9 August 2026 four trainee helms stepped out of their comfort zone and took to the Grand Canal Dock to complete their crew helm training by taking a written and practical exam under the keen eye of Julie Doyle, IDBA Chairman. Preparation is everything and Aoife, Maria, Margy and Niccy worked closely as a group to support each other over the summer while gaining experience under the tutelage of one of our helm trainers, Margaret Mulcahy. All that effort paid off and they passed with flying colours. The Club is looking forward to supporting them in gaining experience over the autumn and winter training. We would also like to thank those club members who paddled the boats and managed the capsize drill.

The new helms increase our helms to the fabulous number of 25, which is a wonderful confirmation of our Club’s belief in giving all members the opportunity to expand their dragon boat experience through access to the many courses run by the IDBA.

                                                   

Sunday 3 May saw the Athy Regatta taking place. The weather stayed fine and both our teams competed strongly in their categories. It was the first regatta for a number of our newer members and we think it has awoken their inner dragon with promises of more great competitions to come!

We had a fabulous start to May with a very busy bank holiday weekend. On Saturday 2 May our wonderful member Linda Taylor was awarded Spirit of the Plurabelles in our annual ceremony. Nominated by her fellow members, the award recognises members who embody the ‘spirit’ of the Plurabelles with qualities like kindness and generosity in giving time to our club and other members. Linda’s family attended and the award was presented by our late founder Fiona Tiernan’s son Oscar.

 

Wednesday 11th February saw us take a break from our typical training to join Accenture on their community walk. Some of our members walked with Accenture from their office to our clubhouse, while some of our paddlers paddled alongside the walkers around the dock, giving a “paddle, bang, salute” along the way. A palpable buzz of excitement followed us every step of the way as the Accenture community and Plurabelles chatted and shared stories.

Thank you to Accenture for the lovely welcome we received in your office, and for choosing Plurabelle Paddlers as your partner on your community walk.

 Photos courtesy of Catrin Prys-Cummins

Plurabelle Paddlers crews plan to compete in the following events in 2026.

The Dragon Run 10Km – Sunday, 29th March 2026
River Barrow, Carlow Town Park, Sleaty Street, Graiguecullen, Co. Carlow Athy Dragon Boat Regatta – Sunday, 3rd May 2026
River Barrow, Emily Square, Athy, Co. Kildare Barrow Dragon Boat Regatta – Sunday, 7th June 2026
River Barrow, Carlow Town Park, Sleaty Street, Graiguecullen, Co. Carlow Donegal Dragon Boat Regatta – Saturday, 25th July 2026
Donegal, Co. Donegal 2026 IBCBC Participatory Dragon Boat Festival – 24th to 30th August 2026
Aix-les-Bains, France Lough Rinn Dragon Boat Regatta – Saturday, 12th September 2026
Lough Rynn Caravan & Camping, Mohill, Co. Leitrim

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Our annual flower ceremony takes place each year in October, Breast Cancer Awareness month. The ceremony is an opportunity to celebrate survivorship and living after a breast cancer diagnosis and an occasion where we show our support to our members living with cancer. We take time to remember and honour our Plurabelles who have passed away. This year’s ceremony took place on Saturday 11 October and was led by Maria Fleming, who read some beautiful poetry with accompanying music supplied by her sister Eileen on harp and her brother-in-law Frank on fiddle. Pink gerbera were released on to the water in remembrance at the end of the ceremony.

Following the ceremony members and guests went back to the clubhouse to chat and enjoy the legendary Plurabelle hospitality.