Almost 4,000 people are expected to take part in a 5k walk along Salthill to raise awareness of suicide prevention. The event, called Darkness Into Light, will be taking place in the early hours of Saturday morning and is the biggest event organized by Pieta House, a suicide prevention charity.
The walk starts at 4.15am on Saturday May 10, with the route going through the promenade to South Park, with participants returning to Leisureland as the sun rises over the bay. Online registrations have already started piling up, and organizers are confident that participants will exceed the 2,300 who took part last year.
Organizers have urged that participants should park along the Salthill promenade or at Claude Toft Park, next to the aquarium, before the pre-dawn start as parking will be limited. Participants registered online will be entitled to a free event T-shirt to wear during the walk.
With 37 Darkness Into Light marches happening nationwide, organizer Niall McNelis has said that there is 'a kind of solidarity in seeing so many people walking together to raise awareness of suicide prevention' and 'there was a magical atmosphere at the event last year'.
Those interested in taking part in the walk are urged to see the Facebook page www.facebook c om/darknessintolightgalway2014 for further information. It is still possible to register for the walk online at http://dil.pieta.ie/.
