Updated 19.55
SOME 80,000 PEOPLE turned out early this morning for the annual ‘Darkness into Light’ fundraising walk and run for suicide and self-harm charity Pieta House.
There was a larger than expected turn-out for the dawn event, with some 13,000 attending the main Dublin location, at the Phoenix Park.
The charity says there were twice as many participants as last year at a number of the venues nationwide.
For the first time, the Irish overseas also took part — with thousands attending events in London and Sydney.
“I can’t believe the huge numbers,” Pieta House founder Joan Freeman said.
It’s a testament to how far we’ve come as a society – suicide is no longer something we fearfully brush under the carpet.
The theme of this year’s event was ‘Mind our Men’: statistics show men are four times more likely than women to take their own lives.
Kathryn Doyle, Carole Connoly, Sharon Jordan and Susan Plunket at the Phoenix Park this morning.
The event has grown in recent years: in 2009, only around 200 people turned out for the Phoenix Park walk.
The charity has opened three new suicide and self-harm crisis centres — in counties Cork, Galway and Kerry — since last year’s event.
Pieta House was set up in Lucan, Co Dublin, in 2006, and receives 15 per cent of its funding from the State. It provides professional one-on-one therapy for those experiencing suicidal thoughts or engaging in self-harm,
Almost 4,000 people sought help from the charity last year.
Walkers in Malahide, Co Dublin [Anthony Cole]
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