Marie Curie nurse calls for people to light up the night for loved ones in Twilight Walk

The Twilight Walk is the leading end of life charity’s annual fundraising event which sees hundreds of families and individuals come together to remember those who have died from terminal illness while raising money to support Marie Curie’s care.

The charity provides expert and compassionate nursing care and support for people throughout Northern Ireland in people’s homes and at the Belfast hospice.

Laura, who nurses in Lisburn, South Down and Ards area, will be attending the special celebration event for the first time with her mother at Barnett Demesne on the evening of Friday, September 27.

“I’m excited to experience the Twilight Walk as it’s a wonderful, warm and lively event where people who have lost people, either just recently or over many years, come together to walk in their memory while raising money for Marie Curie.

“As nurses, it’s such a confidence boost and gratifying to realise that people come out year after year to support our charity, not only for Twilight Walk, but for a range of other fundraising initiatives. We appreciate every pound raised or collected and every word of thanks we receive.”

While the short 7km walk in the dusk around the park is a poignant event – particularly when the walkers return along the Lantern Lane viewing paper lanterns lovingly decorated and dedicated to family members and friends – it’s not a sombre one.

Carolyn Stewart of U105 and her roadshow helps build the excitement and atmosphere up among the walkers, including many young children, babies and dogs, while the evening ends with a spectacular firework display.

Heather Watson from Ards has taken part in Twilight Walk every year since her husband Colin died in 2018, raising an incredible £8,000 over the years.

“It’s the fireworks that do it for me each year,” said Heather, “Last year the fireworks were spectacularly good. I like to think that it’s those we have all lost just lighting up the sky again for us, that somehow Colin is in the sky shining brightly. I know he would be proud of me for my support of Marie Curie after everything they did for him and me.

“No matter if you have lost someone years ago, or over the last year or so, it’s a brilliant way to remember your loved ones in a very special way. It’s important to me to keep his memory alive while raising funds for Marie Curie. They do such a fantastic job at the most difficult time in a person’s life.”

Suzi Stewart from Dundonald is taking part in Twilight Walk this year for the first time to remember her mother, Muriel Thompson, who died at the Marie Curie hospice in 2022 at the age of 73.

She said: “Marie Curie was a lifeline to me during the last three weeks of my mother’s life. The nurses, in fact all the staff, do not get the recognition they deserve. They gave my mother back her dignity and cared for her and me. I’m not one to cry but to have a nurse’s arms around you comforting you when you just met them the day before, meant the world to me at that time. It’s a very special place.

“My employer, Kainos, and other colleagues helped raise over £12,000 for Marie Curie a few years back. I thought that was great until I learnt that it costs around £5,400 a day to provide 24 hours of hospice care. Now I’m so motivated to raise more money to help the charity to help others.”

Ciara Gallagher, Marie Curie’s Head of Fundraising in Northern Ireland, stressed that the charity need people’s support more than ever.

She said: “Our fundraising is needed now more than ever before. Like many charities, the financial context we are operating in is becoming increasingly challenging, a perfect storm of rising costs and rising demand for our services.

“Marie Curie needs to maintain and even extend its service and care to the growing numbers of people who need it, but the challenge is real.

“Please consider joining us on our Twilight Walk on September 27. We promise you a wonderful evening of fun, joy, craic, entertainment and solidarity with people who have a shared experience of having lost loved ones.”

Ciara added that she was delighted to see that the event was returning to its pre-Covid heyday, attracting participants from all over Northern Ireland from Antrim to Enniskillen.

To register for Twilight Walk, please visit Twilight Walk Northern Ireland (mariecurie.org.uk), an Early Bird price of £15 is available until September 7. Children and young people under 18 are free to take part.