A Wexford man has retained his title of Republic of Ireland’s strongest man – helped by the twin brother he competed against.
Siblings Dean and Dillon Doyle, 29, have been taking strongman competitions by storm – and in New Ross on Saturday, (Aug17) Dean held on to the title for the second consecutive year.
The stiffest competition came from his coach Dillon – who was winning in the second last event before suffering an injury and still managing to come third.
“It was a tough and very close competition, right down to the last event,” said delighted Dean.
To complete a Wexford hat trick, Nicky Whelan, New Ross, came in second place.
Dean and Dillon are well used to battling through the pain barrier: both live with painful genetic skin condition epidermolysis bullosa (EB), and their competitions give them the chance to raise awareness about it.
Caused by a lack of protein between the skin’s layers, EB causes extremely painful blisters, requiring extensive bandaging to prevent infection.
It mainly affects Dean’s and Dillon’s feet, meaning walking short distances, especially in heat, can be excruciating.
“Our feet is where we get it worse, even going for a 10-minute walk, you’d have blisters,” said personal trainer Dillon, from Adamstown.
“We’ve travelled to different countries to compete and walking through airports, you’d have blisters.
“By the time you’d get to compete, you wouldn’t be able to lift because you’d be in so much pain.”
Through Debra, the national charity helping 300 people in Ireland living with EB, the brothers receive assistance when they travel through Irish airports.
They didn’t have to travel far for last weekend’s competition – having home advantage in Wexford as Dean, from New Ross, won last year’s event in Derry.
He and Dillon were among 10 of the strongest men in the Republic competing in a gruelling, 150-minute test of strength.
It involved eight 400kg tyre flips (timed), a 20-metre haul of an eight-tonne truck in which competitors can only use their arms, most dead lifts of a car in 75 seconds, a steel pipe raise over the head with weights ranging from 130kg to 190kg and a sandbag toss, starting at 18kg.
Both brothers got into weightlifting when they discovered it helped them cope with the tragic death of their sister Lena, 22, in a car crash in 2010.
Dillon’s last memory of her is telling the twins she was going to meet friends – and the brothers teasing her about how late she would be out.
Three hours later, a Garda called to the family home, breaking the devastating news that would change their lives forever.
Dillon, who runs Dynamite Coaching, aims to get to Giant’s Live in October, the official qualifier for the World’s Strongest Man series – and the chance to become a professional athlete.
Dean, meanwhile, has recently been accepted into New Ross Fire Service.
He says having his twin brother as his coach has made a “massive difference” – even if all bets are off once they go into competition mode.
Dean now qualifies for the All-Ireland championships and a chance to become the strongest man in the 32 counties.
Find out more about Debra’s work and EB at debra.ie.
