08/09/2026
☀️ Celebrating Summer 2026 | Darkness Into Light Carlow
This month, we’re celebrating Summer 2026 by looking back at some of the events All About Carlow was invited to attend, support and help promote across the county.
There are some events that are difficult to capture in a single photograph. Darkness Into Light Carlow was certainly one of them.
In the early hours of Saturday, 9 May 2026, people gathered in Carlow as part of Pieta’s annual Darkness Into Light fundraiser. The 5km event began at 4.15am, with communities across Ireland and around the world walking together in support of those affected by su***de and self-harm, and to help fund Pieta’s free services.
In Carlow, the yellow shirts gradually filled familiar streets as the darkness gave way to the first light of morning. Families, friends, volunteers, children and dogs all shared the route, passing through the town and alongside the River Barrow. Emergency services, local businesses and volunteers also formed part of a remarkable community effort.
And among all the movement were quieter moments too. A simple illuminated HOPE beneath a tree perhaps said more than any long speech could.
For All About Carlow, covering the event meant being there while much of the town was still asleep, following the story from the gathering and first steps through to the streets, the people and the atmosphere along the way. Local events deserve more than a photograph at the finish line. They deserve to have their whole story seen.
These images are just some of the moments from a very special Carlow morning.
Pieta said around 80,000 people registered for Darkness Into Light events in Ireland and around the world in 2026.
📸 Photograph Credit: Anthony Heaney / All About Carlow
Permission was given for photographs from the event to be shared on social media. If you see an image you would like to keep, or an image you would prefer to have removed, please email [email protected].
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