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This weekend, Darkness Into Light fundraising events will take place across the globe in aid of the suicide and self-harm crisis centre, Pieta House. Here in Killarney, the annual walk is held in memory of the late Nathan O’Carroll who took his own life in 2007. He was just 14 years of age.

Nathan’s family, led by parents Denis and Marie, have run the event since its inception in 2011 and it has become one of the most successful fundraisers of its kind in the country. It’s great to see so many people coming together to show their support for the O’Carrolls, while also providing much-needed funds for a worthy charity in the process.

Perhaps the greatest achievement of the Darkness Into Light campaign has been the manner in which it has challenged the stigma attached to suicide and mental health. In the past, these issues were brushed under the carpet but people like Denis and Marie, who speak so openly and so candidly about their first-hand experience with suicide, have unquestionably shifted the dial in a major way. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that as a nation we’re completely comfortable with the topic, but things have certainly come a long way even in the past decade or so.

Unfortunately, many of us here in Killarney have been touched by suicide. Personally, I lost one of my best friends to suicide back in 2009. We’ve all suffered bereavements and every death is tragic in its own way, but there’s something especially difficult about a suicide. It’s so unexpected and so confusing. It really knocks you off your feet.

My main thought after it happened was that I wished I could have spoken to him about whatever was going on before it was too late.

I definitely found it hard to cope and the next few months were extremely tough. I really struggled with it, to be honest, and I eventually decided to get some counselling. It wasn’t an easy step to take but addressing the issue head-on and just talking made the world of difference.

At the time, I probably felt as though what I was going through was never going to end but looking back now I realise that it was just one minor chapter in a much bigger story. That’s why Darkness Into Light is so important. Firstly, it funds Pieta House, a charity that has provided assistance to over 30,000 people when they needed it most. Secondly, it has helped to force the subject of mental health out of the shadows and into the light.

When things are out in the open like they are now, and mental health issues become more widely accepted as simply an illness like any other, people are more likely to speak up about their problems. And that can only be a good thing.

Darkness Into Light takes place tomorrow (Saturday) morning at 4.15am, starting from the Killarney Racecourse. You can register at the Racecourse from 5pm-8pm today or online at dil.pieta.ie