Over €6.5 million raised so far through Darkness Into Light campaign for Pieta House

€1.1 million of the money raised so far came from viewers of Friday night's The Late Late Show.

Despite the miserable weather conditions, thousands of people took part in Darkness Into Light this morning, with the campaign so far raising over €6.5 million for suicide-prevention charity Pieta House. More than 140,000 people signed up for the event this year, which has grown since 2009 into becoming the charity's main fundraising campaign. Darkness Into Light 2021 took place at dawn on Saturday morning. With organised gatherings cancelled due to Covid-19 for the second year in a row, those taking part were asked to witness the sunrise and share their experiences of the early morning through social media. At the time of writing, €6,722,749 has been raised so far - with the number still rising. €1.1 million of the money raised came from viewers of Friday night's The Late Late Show after the programme's fundraising drive.

@RTELateLateShow you have raised an incredible €1.1 million. On behalf of Pieta and our clients, we are so grateful for your generosity and kindness. We cannot wait to see your sunrise pictures #DIL2021 #BrighterTogether pic.twitter.com/J0IATsqwEG

— Pieta (@PietaHouse) May 7, 2021

Pieta's clinical manager Leigh Kenny was a guest on the programme to discuss the importance of the event. She explained: "This time last year, we were faced with the pandemic... We get 80% of our funding from the public and we rely on that funding so much to be able to continue our service for free. "We didn't know where we were going to go. We didn't know what we were going to do. We were in crisis. "We got an amazing opportunity... to be able to come on the Late Late this time last year and we never imagined what would happen on the night. To be back here again is just phenomenal." Kenny thanked those who donated, praising "the generosity of the Irish nation".