Darkness into Light a hit online
DARKNESS into Light, the annual fundraiser for suicide prevention charity, Pieta House was cancelled at the week-end but that didn’t stop people coming up with other ways at fundraising.
Many people took part in walks or runs by themselves and later donating online to the charity.
Some €2 million alone was raised through an appeal made on last Friday night’s Late Late Show.
The community of Dromore West came together to raise in excess of €11,000 for Pieta House after holding an innovative virtual concert involving local musicians and singers on Saturday night last.
Over 330 households bought virtual tickets to watch the event, which featured a whole host of performers, including CCE Tireragh’s All-Ireland Grupai Ceoil champions.
The idea for the event came from Roisin Kilgannon, who brought her proposal to the Dromore West Darkness Into Light Committee.
She says the response was better than anyone anticipated.
“Our community is small but mighty” said Róisín.
“Watching everyone tune in on Saturday night, listening to all of the amazing performances, hearing the audience clap and cheer after each act, seeing photos of everyone watching at home in their sitting rooms and reading all the wonderful feedback and messages both throughout and afterwards from viewers all over the world was extremely overwhelming to say the least.”
Using Zoom technology, the concert was a huge hit with all of those tuning in from the comfort of their own homes.
Geraldine McCloat, the event director for Dromore West Darkness Into Light, said there was a lot of hard work behind the scenes to ensure the event ran smoothly and provide a sense of community spirit:
“It was very disappointing that the walk had to be postponed this year, but this concert was something that people were able to look forward to in its place.
“For the past three years our community has come together for Darkness Into Light, and they came together once again for this event.
“For all of us backstage it was overwhelming as we watched on the screen the numbers going up as people entered the concert.
“And, to then see these young performers from our community, sharing their talent during this time, it was amazing.
“It’s events like this that bring hope back, especially with what the world has been facing over the last number of weeks.”
The event allowed the community of Dromore West and beyond congregate in a virtual sense as well as providing an evening of quality entertainment in challenging times.
Chief organiser Roisin said that a team effort was key to the success of the night: “I want to especially thank the many people who came together behind the scenes to make up the dream team that made this production such a huge success. It just proves we really can come together while staying apart.”