The official launch of the 2015 Mullingar Darkness into Light 5k walk/run took place in the Greville Arms Hotel on Monday of this week.
Now in its third year, this years event takes place on the morning of Saturday, 9 May, with over one thousand people expected to take part this year.
At Monday’s launch, Tom McEvoy from Pieta House spoke of the importance of events such as Darkness into Light, which became a global event in just a few years.
“Darkness into Light is an event which acts as a conduit for a lot of people who are perhaps struggling with their own lives, personally or as a family, with work, etc. They may not be in a great place and simply require someone to connect with in an event such as Darkness into Light, where people are coming for a reason.”
Mr. McEvoy spoke of the symbolism behind Darkness into Light, which commences at 4.15am. “It’s not for the faint-hearted. It starts when people can be at a very low period at night.”
Tom spoke of the support his organisation has received since the first event, highlighting the attendance of the event in 2014, when over 1,100 took part in Mullingar.
“I came along to meet people here in Mullingar three years ago with a view to encouraging people to get behind Darkness into Light. The amount of goodwill we received here was given in a fantastic, welcoming and embracing way. We’ve received the same since then. We started with over 500 and it grew to over 1,000 last year. This year we hope to match that or get higher.”
Aside from the Darkness into Light event, Mr. McEvoy spoke of the increase in demand Pieta House receives. “We saw over 5,300 people last year, with over 17,000 since our foundation since 2006.The number seeking assistance is on the increase. The number of people taking their lives in Ireland appears to have reduced slightly, but not significantly enough in our view. We are continuing to do our best to allow access for those who need assistance and Mullingar people are helping in a huge way to allow that to happen.”
Now a truly global event, this year’s Darkness into Light will take place in 80 locations, with 19 of these outside of Ireland.
“It’s an incredible achievement by the committees who have volunteered and put their name forward to participate in this now worldwide event which is growing from strength to strength,” concluded Tom.
ROUTE
As per 2014, this year’s Darkness into Light commences at Columb Barracks at 4.15am. The walk/run continues though Dominick Street, Mary Street, Bishopsgate Street, Harbour Street, through the roundabout and through St Finian’s College, passing Gaelscoil an Mhuilinn before finishing at Columb Barracks.
Anyone interested in registering can do so online at www.dil.pieta.ie, with pre-registration venues for Mullingar to be announced in the coming days.
