Mullingar DIL needs more volunteers

Music by The Easy Ones (a new name) provided a relaxing backdrop to the launch of the 2026 Mullingar Darkness Into Light at the Old House in the Annebrook House Hotel on Easter Monday evening.

A new committee has been formed and the event is going ahead on Saturday May 9, starting and finishing at Mullingar Rugby Club, where there will be tea and coffee in the clubhouse.

The new committee was formed after Donal Coade took action when he saw a social media post on the Mullingar DIL page saying the previous committee members were standing down, and seeking new volunteers to take over running the event.

Donal contacted Pieta House, and a public meeting was arranged. Only a handful showed up, and that spurred Donal to get to work on people he knew who he thought would be willing to help. A number came forward, and they organised the launch event in the Annebrook to help get the word out that the event is going ahead.

What’s mostly needed now, Donal says, is volunteers. “We still need a lot of marshals. We have some of the International Protection people volunteering to marshal. We have 14 at the moment, and we probably need about 50. There are three roundabouts we have to cover and exits [on the route], a lot of marshalling.”

Anyone who would like to get involved can do so by messaging on social media (darknessintolightmullingar).

Asked how he would encourage people to help, or to participate, Donal said anything that helps in the conversation about mental health and suicide prevention is positive, and that’s an area Pieta House, beneficiary of Darkness Into Light, works in: “I think it’s crucial that people look after their mental health. There is a huge issue with suicide, and we’re not talking about it – we need to talk about it more. There’s a great resource on the HSE website called Let’s Talk About Suicide, and it’s well worth a look. Every school, business, organisation should be looking at that – it is a huge resource, because it tells you how to spot somebody that’s contemplating suicide and then how to talk to them.

“What I would suggest is that as many businesses as possible share Darkness Into Light Mullingar on their social media so we can make this a big event, because we want to make Mullingar a real big hub for positive mental health.

“We have Bressie (as mental health advocate), we have music, any amount of sporting organisations, so we need to bring more positivity and that’s the only way we’ll do it.”

Committee member Loren Crowley, on behalf of herself and colleagues, thanked Berty Dunne and Michael McCabe from the Annebrook House Hotel for supporting the launch event, and Mullingar Rugby Club, where the 5k starts and finishes on Saturday May 9.

The Mullingar DIL Committee have secured sponsorship for a bus to run on the morning from Columb Barracks via Midlands Regional Hospital to collect patrons to take them to the rugby club. It will run every 15 minutes until the event finishes.

Minister complements new Darkness Into Light committee

Minister of State Robert Troy, TD, complimented “the group that came together at short notice to ensure that we would have a walk again this year in Mullingar”, speaking at the launch event on Easter Monday.

“As someone who was involved in the initial walk, over 10 years ago, the first walk was in Belvedere and it has happened every year since, and it would have been a great pity to see it not happening this year in Mullingar. Obviously it’s important to raise funds for Pieta House to do great work in terms of supporting people when they need that support, but perhaps more important is the awareness that it generates in our communities.

“I don’t think there’s a family that hasn’t been affected by mental health in some shape or form over the years, so it’s great to have that public display that the Darkness into Light Walk is about – saying to people it’s okay not to feel okay, it’s okay to ask for help and to destigmatise mental health.

“We’ve come a long way but it’s still there, there’s still a little bit of a stigma in some quarters, so I think it’s really important and full credit to the group, the committee, a small committee who have come together, and I would just encourage everybody to get behind it and support it on the morning.”