In Pictures: Dragon boat racing and party atmosphere at Donegal Town regatta

The 2024 staging of Donegal Dragons' home regatta was always going to be special as the club marked its 10th birthday. Clik on the arrows to see photos of the day's activities. 

Donegal Dragons was founded by Deborah Bonner after she heard about its benefits for people who had undergone breast cancer surgery. In the last 10 years, the club has gone from strength to strength, and is a great way for breast cancer survivors and supporters to get fit, have fun and acheive things they never thought possible. 

It was particularly fitting therefore that the home team racced to victory in the Women't final, finishing just ahead of US visitors, the Williamettes from Oregon. They were followed in third place by one of the newest clubs in the country, Ballina Dragons who put in a fantastic day's racing to qualify for the women's final.

The Mixed category was won by Belfast Phoenix Warriors. They finished ahead of Dublin Vikings by what MC for the day, Mayor of Donegal Town Pauric Kennedy described as 'a dragon's whisker.' In third place was Kilkenny's KACC. 

Another notable performance was from junior team Donegal Dolphins who only narrowly missed out on a place in the three-boat mixed final, finishing faster than many of the experienced senior crews.

There was a wonderful celebratory atmosphere throughout the event. The stage was set by Sarah Marie McDevitt of Pinehill Studios who led the hugely popular Zumba warmup ahead of racing. Jonathan Kennedy kept the music going throughout the afternoon, with some excellent song choices to honour visiting crews and to keep the party going. 

Evening entertainment was provided by local band Skirmish followed by karaoke in the regatta marquee.