21 February 2024
17th annual Harbour2Harbour Walk will raise vital funds for Aware
Official event partner of St. Patrick’s Festival 2024
Irish dancing sensations ‘The Gardiner Brothers’ today launched the 17th annual Aware Harbour2Harbour Walk which will take place on St. Patrick’s Day, Sunday 17th March. An official event partner of St. Patrick’s Festival, the charity expects over 2,500 enthusiastic walkers to take on the 26km challenge, with the option of starting from Howth Harbour or Dun Laoghaire Harbour. Suitable for most fitness levels, the walk will take participants along the scenic Dublin Bay route with a ‘Halfway Hooley’ hosted at sponsor Dublin Port Company’s historic Pumphouse. Registration is now open at www.aware.ie/harbour2harbour at a cost of €25 per person.
The Gardiner Brothers, Michael and Matthew commented: “We are honoured to be a part of this year’s Harbour2Harbour Walk with Aware. Mental health is such an extremely important thing to talk about in this day and age, and we want to encourage people to be conscious of their own mental health as well as those around them. We have always been big into sports and exercise, especially with our dancing, and we find that it contributes greatly not only to our physical health but also our mental health. We encourage everyone to take part in this incredible Harbour2Harbour Walk on St. Patrick’s Day which will be a fantastic way to start everyone’s day!”
The Aware Harbour2Harbour Walk is a flagship fundraising event for Aware, the national charity supporting people impacted by depression and bipolar disorder. This unique event will help raise vital funds to ensure the organisation can continue to deliver its free support, education and information services to individuals and communities nationwide.
This is the second year that the event has been included as part of St. Patrick’s Festival One City, One Festival Programme. Stephen Butterly, Head of Fundraising at Aware commented: “We are delighted to be included as an official event partner of St. Patrick’s Festival again this year. 2023 was our most successful event to date with over 2,500 people coming together to proudly demonstrate their support for mental health and raise money for Aware’s services. The Aware Harbour2Harbour Walk offers something a little bit different and it’s a great way to get family and friends together to celebrate our national holiday in a fun and healthy way. With the support of St. Patrick’s Festival, we are hopeful that we will see even more people taking part this year!”
Dublin Port Company has generously sponsored the event since 2014, hosting a ‘Halfway Hooley’ for participants midway along the route. Speaking about their involvement, Barry O’Connell, Chief Executive at Dublin Port Company commented: “We are proud to once again sponsor the Aware Harbour2Harbour Walk, an event that promotes both physical activity and mental health awareness. At Dublin Port Company, we recognise the importance of supporting initiatives that contribute to the wellbeing of our community. Hosting the ‘Halfway Hooley’ is our way of welcoming and encouraging participants as they embark on this significant journey along the Dublin Bay route.”
All participants will receive a t-shirt when they arrive for the event and are encouraged to wear these as they take part to raise awareness and show their support for mental health. People can also join the conversation online, using the hashtag #WeAreAware when sharing on social media.