Lots of sparkle and magic at Darkness into Light launch

It’s time for some light in the darkness for people with mental health issues, as the annual Darkness into Light events will all take place at 4:15am on the morning of Saturday May 11 2024. Conjurer extraordinaire Cillian O’Connor from Mornington and award winning actress Helen Behan from Laytown were on hand to help launch the East Meath event at Southgate over the weekend.

The Laytown event is just one a number to chose from in the region, with others in Dundalk, Drogheda, Dunleer and Ardee also planned. There are lots of ways to get involved. You can take part in one of the Darkness Into Light official walks, take part in Your Own Way, or you can create your own DIL Fundraiser by holding a bake sale, a car wash, a sponsored silence, a run, or a swim and fundraising with your family, friends and colleagues in your local area.

With over 200 official walks across Ireland and abroad, you can come together with your community and be part of the most important sunrise of the year. Registration is now open for one of the local events, which are just a handful of 200 taking place across the country.

Or would you, your school, club or business like to do something else? Do a TikTok dance, host a coffee morning, go sailing or something completely different!

Last year, the Drogheda event, which is now in its year, raised over €30,000 for Pieta House, to raise awareness of suicide prevention.

Darkness into Light began in 2009, in the Phoenix Park in Dublin, when 400 people set off on the inaugural 5km walk to raise funds for Pieta. From small beginnings, the movement has continued to grow, and now there are over 150,000 participants in Darkness Into Light each year.

Each year the walk provides an opportunity for people to connect with their local community and to bring hope to people who have been impacted by suicide. The many teams of dedicated volunteers in Ireland and overseas, return year on year to make the event a success and to help everyone continue to raise awareness and hope in the global fight against suicide and self-harm.

In 2012, the first international event took place in London, and since then international partner charities, from Seoul to Spain and New Zealand to the Netherlands, have benefited from an investment of over €3.5 million in local mental health support services.

Pieta is 85% funded by fundraising events like Darkness Into Light. Since Darkness Into Light began, our supporters have helped Pieta raise over €36 million. So, DIL directly contributes to enabling Pieta to provide services to people impacted by suicide and self-harm.

Pieta is so proud to have been supported by Electric Ireland since 2013. Together, Pieta and Electric Ireland and our partner charities and supporters across the world have grown Darkness Into Light into a global act of solidarity for people affected by suicide and self-harm.

Early bird registration is open until the end of March on www.darknessintolight.ie.