Registration open for Derry’s Darkness into Light

The annual walk was first started in 2009 in Dublin and now has over 200,000 participants in over 19 different countries. It will be taking place in Derry at 4.15am on the early hours of Saturday, May 7.

Edelle O Donnell, Chair of the Darkness into Light Derry Committee, explained: “I have lost two people through suicide so this is something that’s close to my heart to be able to help somebody else. So, as well as raising funds, this walk is about what it means to people in the city.

“‘A lot of people take part in the walk because they have lost someone to suicide and are doing it in memory of them. We have a Banner of Hope on the morning which people can write a message. You hear people telling stories about people they have lost as they walk, it’s so special. Its been 10 years since my nephew died and I still talk about him all the time and find solace walking with other people who have been through the same.

“We didn’t do a walk in 2020, it was completely cancelled because of Covid but I still went myself when it was starting to get light. Last year in 2021, we knew we needed to raise funds so we decided that people could do it wherever they were to raise money. We still did the route and we saw a few other people who did the same and that was lovely, even though we weren’t all walking together. This year we’ll be back to doing it properly and we can’t wait to get out.

“Pieta have a crisis centre in Letterkenny, which services the North West including Derry, I have referred people unto Pieta and they have received help. They take self referrals, so you don’t have to wait for a doctor’s referral. In Derry, it’s split so Pieta house get 50% of the registration fee and Foyle Search and Rescue get 50%, as well as 100% of all donations so we’re hoping to raise even more than the £25,000 we raised last year for Foyle Search and Rescue.

“It’s a place where people can come together to remember loved ones or give hope for people that are in distress. The route is up the Quay, under the Craigavon bridge, round and back over the Peace Bridge again. So, at the start, we have a choir who sing beautiful music and we have the ‘Reflection KM’ with decorated fairy lights and candles and things to make it lovely. The year before Covid, we had Conor McGinty singing so there was music along the route too. People enjoy the experience of it, it’s not just like a normal walk.

“When you come back, Sainsbury’s Cafe, who have always been great to us, open up and have staff volunteer to help out. We get donations of cream buns, toast and tea and coffee. You don’t just finish the walk and go home, people sit and talk and it’s just lovely.

“Registration is now open and it’s all online. We understand that some people might not have an email address and we never want that to be a barrier for people not coming along. We want people to know that they can come along on the day and put a donation into the bucket or, on our promotional days, people can come along and we’ll be able to help them with their registration and give more information.

“There’s early bird registration now until March 31, when it will go up to the normal price. We’re really trying to encourage people to avail of the early bird rates and register nice and early.

“The T-shirts get posted out so we want people to be registered as soon as possible so that they can be posted out to them. If people have T-shirts from the years before and don’t actually want it, there’s an option for that too. The cutoff point to get a T-shirt is the end of April so we’re really trying to push to get people registered now.

“We often get people offering to volunteer and we would love to invite anyone who would like to send us a message. We would love volunteers to take pictures and videos of the walk too to really capture it so people can message the page if they would like to do that.”

Registration is open for Darkness Into Light, Derry and can be made at www.darknessintolight.ie. There will also be a promotion day on Sunday, March 20 in Foyleside for people who would like to register, donate or chat to the committee. Keep an eye on the Darkness into Light Derry Facebook Page for updates.