Meet Me In The Morning

Here comes the light… SAT6MAY23 Pic: Eoin O’Reilly

here was no tripping the light fantastic this morning, as a muted sunrise greeted the hundreds of Greystonians who gathered on the South Beach.

It made for a mildly muted affair, but the mix of sadness and goodness that comes with a Darkness Into Light fundraiser was certainly there.

Having grown from 400 participants back in 2009 to over 200,000 annually, Darkness Into Light walk has become a major calendar event.

Raising money for the suicide prevention organisation Pieta House, the slogan for the event is Wake Up & Walk With Us.

Given that suicide rates in Ireland are currently at an unprecedented level, Pieta House believes it is indeed time the country woke up to this very traumatic issue. With centres all around the country, Pieta offers free counselling to anyone in suicidal crisis, anyone bereaved by suicide, and people who engages in self-harm. 

Having come out in force in 2022, this year’s Darkness Into Light in Greystones had much of the town stretching and yawning for that 5.43am sunrise, with cafés such as Rise At The Cove and Café Gourmet putting the kettle on early, various local yoga gurus shaking their chakras and their cans, and portrait painters doing pretty much the same. Adding some spectacle to the morning, local sailors taking to the low seas.

For one of the local organisers, Sharon Felton, the morning was all about making sure “no one feels alone”. 

Well done to everyone involved, and a big thanks to photographer Liz Cusack for once again capturing the coming of the light.

You can find out more about Darkness Into Light on their website here.