Even bigger crowd expected at second Wexford town walk

AROUND 2,500 people are expected rise before dawn on May 12 to take part in the Pieta House Darkness Into Light walk in Wexford town.

This is only the second year that the walk has been held in Wexford but it was a massive success last year with numbers this year expected to swell significantly.

Last year around 1,700 people turned out to support the walk surprising the organisers who had expected in the region of 1,000 people.

Organiser Liam McCabe who had previously sat on the Ennicorthy Darkness Into Light committee said it was an natural progression to bring the walk to Wexford town.

‘I was on the committee in Ennniscorthy for two years and could see that a lot of people from Wexford were travelling to take part in the walk so I decided to organise one here in the town. Last year was our first year and I had expected around 1,000 people but over 1,700 turned up. We were blown away with the support we received and raised over €46,000 last year so we hope to increase that this year.

‘This year there is a change to registration. Instead of registering locally now all participants must register online at dil. pieta.ie. There will be no registration on the day. Tee-shirts will be posted out to registered participants in advance of the walk.

‘The new changes all relate to data protection and security and to be honest it’s a lot handier for organising committees. We estimate that we will have around 2,500 people taking part in Wexford which would be amazing.

‘Anyone can talk part, young or old, and you can either walk or run the route. There is a great atmosphere around the town on the morning. Many people are walking for their own personal reasons, such as suffering from mental health problems themselves or having a family member who died by suicide.

‘Others just want to come out and support the event and raise money for Pieta House. Lots of people have volunteers to help out on the morning both with stewarding and refreshments. We have scouts, girl guide, member of Marine Watch and other general volunteers as well. It’s great to see the whole community coming together for such a worthy cause.

‘After the walk there will be refreshments served in St Joseph’s Community Centre.’

Participants taking part in the Wexford walk are asked to meet at St Joseph’s Community Centre. Walkers will then head towards White Mill Road, by Woodie’s, onto Clonard Road, continuing on Summerhill Road, going by St Aidan’s Super Valu and back to St Joseph’s Community Centre. The walk starts at 4.15 a.m.

(By Esther Hayden)