Longford launches Darkness into Light 2025

Last Thursday saw the launch of this years darkness into light walk for 2025.

Darkness into Light is an incredibly important event in Longford’s calendar. Each year sees hundreds of people congregate to the Mall in Longford town in support of Pieta House and raise much needed funds for suicide prevention.

This year, the walk will take place on 11 May. Last week's launch saw the chairs of Longford Darkness into Light lay out what could be expected for 2025’s Darkness into Light.

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Thomas Delaney, co-chair of the Longford Branch alongside Francesca Pawelczyk discussed the event.

Thomas has been working with Darkness Into Light for about a decade having first getting involved in Abu Dhabi in 2015.

“We launched at the Rugby Club,” he recalled, “There was food provided by the EDI Centre.”

The launch also saw refreshments provided by Fresh Today.

While the event has seen a drop in attendance since the pandemic it has been slowly returning to it’s original numbers.

“We had good numbers last year, they’re creeping up, so hopefully this year we’ll have big numbers again.

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“Covid affected us greatly with the numbers, it was 1400 or so the year before the pandemic but then it halved.”

According to Thomas local communities are hosting their own independent Darkness into Light walks, he and Pieta House hope to return to the original format of one big walk.

“It’ll creep back up, last year we had 800 to 900 participants.”

Regardless of the numbers Darkness into Light is an incredibly important event to people across the country wheter they have lost someone to suicide or have struggled with depression themselves.

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The walk allows for people to stand together and lift one another up.

“A lot of people come to the event and tell their own stories.

“The donations are always great, they can make a donation on the day.”

A Pieta House representative who attended thursday’s lauch explained that Longford’s event is one of the most successful in the country.

“The lay said that Longford has, between the two walks,” Ballymahon Vocational School also hosts and annual walk, “We’ve donated a quarter of a million euro in ten years.”

“That gives you an idea of how much money people raise and throw into a bucket at the walk.”

Finally Thomas thanked everyone who has been involved in supporting and organising this years Darkness Into Light walk.
“Samuel in the Shopping centre, he’s recently joined our committee and is always great for the registration day.

“Fresh today in Longford provide food and drinks on the night of the walk and without that we probably wouldn’t be able to accommodate everyone at the event so I’d like to thank them and everyone else who gives us a hand throughout the year.”