Longford Pieta’s Darkness Into Light 2025 – Sign up, get set and walk for the most important sunrise of the year

The Longford Town Darkness Into Light Committee is pleased to announce the return of their Darkness Into Light walk for Pieta, the suicide and self-harm prevention charity.

This year’s walk will take place on Saturday, May 10 at 4.15am at the Longford Sports and Leisure Centre and is once again proudly supported by Electric Ireland.

Whether you take part to remember a loved one, honour a personal journey, show solidarity, or make sure suicide and self-harm prevention services remain available in Ireland, every step you take and every Euro you raise will help Pieta continue offering free, professional support to those at risk of suicide, self-harm, or affected by suicide - 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

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Speaking ahead of this year’s event, Francesca Pawelczyk, Co-Chair of the Longford Town Darkness Into Light Committee, said, "I’ve been involved in Darkness Into Light in Longford for ten years, and every year I see how much it means to our community. Our walks would not be possible without our local supporters who provide venues, refreshments, and their expertise. These events are a team effort, and we are extremely grateful to everyone who helps us make each walk as special as possible.”

Thomas Delaney, Committee Co-Chair, is encouraging people to register for the Longford Town Darkness Into Light walk as “Our venue has been chosen for additional support by Electric Ireland and this will make our twelfth walk even more spectacular!”

At any time, someone in Longford could need the FREE services Pieta provides, and the money raised for Pieta through Darkness Into Light helps make sure that support is always there when it is needed most.

PICTURES: Huge Longford support for Pieta Darkness into Light Walk 2024

At the county launch for Darkness Into Light 2025, Trudy Darling, Clinical Service Manager in Pieta, Athlone and outreach services in surrounding counties, shared her first-hand experience of supporting Pieta’s clients on their therapy journey:

“People who are experiencing suicidal ideation or self-harming can avail of 12 sessions where the therapist will use the approach of solution focussed, whereas bereavement support is focussed on allowing the person to have the space to grieve and also to look at practical solutions that may support the client in their journey of grieving.”

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Trudy shared news of the introduction of a psychoeducation programme for parents where, “The focus is to educate parents in how to support their child/adolescent who are presenting with suicide ideation and self-harm and how this allows parents/carers to build on their confidence and to have open conversations with their child around suicide ideation/self-harm.” 

Answering a question about access to Pieta’s services, Trudy advised language barriers should not stop someone in need from contacting them as Pieta will always source an interpreter, “I have experienced this many times where I used an interpreter, and it has worked out well.” 

PICTURES | Pieta thank people of Longford for taking part in Darkness Into Light 2023

Whether you’ve been directly impacted by suicide or self-harm, or simply want to show your support, we are asking everyone in Longford to register to come out and walk with us in Longford Town or Ballymahon, Longford’s official Darkness Into Light Walks. Together, we can help bring hope to people in who need it and work to prevent suicide and self-harm in our community.

We would like to thank the Sin Bin for hosting the county launch, the EDI Centre’s Community Café for the cupcakes, and Fresh Today School Lunches for the muffins.

We would like to thank all our (annual) local supporters, the Longford Sports and Leisure Centre, Longford Scouts, Longford County Council, Longford Civil Defence, Longford Hire, Fresh Today School Lunches, Longford Centre, DJ Mick Nash, Peter Hanley Motors, Temperance Hall, Longford Volunteer Centre, Longford Variety Group, the EDI Centre, and photographers Lalin Swaris, Lissette Carcamo, and Michael Croghan. If you would like to become one of our local supporters, email us at longford@darknessintolight.ie

For more information, to register, or to find out how you can get involved, visit darknessintolight.ie or follow us on Facebook @DILLongfordTown, Instagram @dil_longford, or Twitter @DILLongfordTown.

Also read: Longford walkers going the extra mile for Pieta Darkness Into Light