A message of hope at Solstice Walk
THERE was glorious sunshine at Curracloe beach recently as people travelled from right across the county to take part in an inspiring and poignant ceremony as the Hope Cancer Support Centre hosted its annual Summer Solstice Walk. Always a major event for those associated with the centre, each year it sees service users, survivors, family members and members of the general public take to the beautiful beach at Curracloe for meditation, reflection and remembrance.
This year the event, facilitated by Bridget Moran, saw around 350 people gather at the Winning Post in Curracloe. There were various inspiring poems and readings and beautiful music provided by Stephen Murphy along with Deirdre Moran. Not a race or a marathon, participants were simply invited to take a stroll along the beach in the sunshine as far as Ballinesker and to come back along the road to Curracloe. Then, in a particularly moving part of the ceremony, everyone present was invited to take a pebble from a bucket, bring it to the water’s edge and cast it into the sea as a symbolic act of casting cares and troubles away.
The Hope Centre has been hosting the Solstice Walk for nearly ten years and it has proven to be, not only a great opportunity for reflection, but also to meet and talk to people who have gone through or are going through similar situations. As with any Hope event, everyone had their own reasons for taking part and there was a lovely atmosphere as some of these stories were shared on the beach in the summer sunshine.
Organisers wished to thank everyone who came along and got involved on the night and helped out in any way with making the evening such a success.