One million kilometres walked in the march against suicide

The sky was still dark when thousands in yellow t-shirts walked from Darkness Into Light to de-stigmatise suicide and raise funds for suicide prevention, suicide bereavement and self-harm in Northern Ireland.

On Saturday, May 12th Pieta House and sponsorship partner Electric Ireland marked the tenth anniversary of Darkness Into Light, a global movement and fundraising event with over 200,000 participants across fifteen countries including thousands of people across nine venues in Northern Ireland.

From humble beginnings in 2009 with 400 walkers in Dublin's Phoenix Park, Darkness Into Light, has grown from strength to strength.

This year the first walk took place in New Zealand as teams were setting up for the 180 locations across the island of Ireland. From there it moved to Australia, on to the US, the United Emirates, across Europe with Belgium, Spain and Germany, before finally crossing the Atlantic after Ireland and the UK, with the last event being on the west coast in Vancouver, Canada.

Clare McAllister, Sales and Marketing Manager, Electric Ireland, said, "We have been incredibly proud to support Darkness Into Light since 2013. We are thrilled with the swelling number of people participating every year, making this event a powerful international movement in the fight against suicide; together we can offer hope, community and solidarity to people impacted by suicide and self-harm.’’

Brian Higgins, the CEO of Pieta House, said, "I can't thank the volunteers, supporters, participants and our sponsors Electric Ireland enough. Each year, I'm blown away by the support and compassion shown around the world on this very special day. We must not get complacent however, and I urge our walkers and the public to remember that the finish line is only the beginning of our journey. We need to replace suicidal thoughts and self-harm with hope and understanding and practice hope and empathy every day."

Electric Ireland has sponsored Darkness into Light for the past six years.

Derry Girls star Jamie-Lee O’Donnell said: “This is such an important campaign, I’m delighted to be supporting the beneficiary charities and Electric Ireland in delivering the message of Darkness Into Light for the 2018 walk. I know that together we can help contribute to this global movement and spread a message of hope, self-care and acceptance.”