Aware’s 18th annual Harbour2Harbour Walk Taking Place 17th March 2025
20 February 2025
Charity event continues to grow as thousands expected to walk from Howth Harbour to Dun Laoghaire Harbour (or reverse) this St. Patrick’s Day
Official event partner of St. Patrick’s Festival 2025 and proudly supported by Dublin Port
Newstalk presenter, doctor and avid walker, Dr Ciara Kelly was joined by Irish wolfhounds Faolagh and Cillian to launch the 18th annual Aware Harbour2Harbour Walk which will take place on St. Patrick’s Day, Monday 17th March. An official event partner of St. Patrick’s Festival, over 3,000 enthusiastic walkers are expected to take on the 26km challenge this year, 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’s Port Centre Plaza on Alexandra Road. Registration is now open at www.aware.ie/harbour2harbour at a cost of €27 per adult and €10 per child.
Dr Ciara Kelly commented: “I wanted to get involved with the Aware Harbour2Harbour Walk because I believe the work they do is so important for those struggling with depression and bipolar, but also because walking is just so good for our mental health! I’m a keen walker myself and I do it as much for my head as for any physical benefits. I think this is going to be a great day out and a really great way to support the vital work of Aware whilst raising awareness AND also being of huge benefit to the people who participate!”
The Aware Harbour2Harbour Walk is a flagship fundraising event for Aware, the national charity supporting people impacted by depression and bipolar disorder. According to a recent *Aware survey, 3 in 4 respondents reported facing mental health challenges last year, with almost one third of those citing a diagnosis of depression. This event plays a crucial role in raising essential funds, enabling Aware to continue providing free support, education, and information services to individuals and communities across the country.
Speaking about the 2025 event, Stephen Butterly, Head of Fundraising at Aware commented: “The Aware Harbour2Harbour Walk continues to grow each year, with a record 2,700 participants joining us last year for our biggest event to date. This unique event on Ireland’s national holiday offers the opportunity to connect with friends and family and celebrate in a meaningful way by contributing towards raising awareness and vital funds for our free mental health services. We’re honoured to be an official event partner of St. Patrick’s Festival for the third year running, and very grateful for the ongoing support of our sponsor Dublin Port. Our hope is to see this event grow even further in 2025, creating a greater impact with each passing year.”
Dublin Port has partnered with 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: “The Aware Harbour2Harbour Walk is a highlight of the Dublin Port community programme. The Port provides Dubliners with a whole host of amenities that promote physical and mental health. Between the Great South Wall, our Distributed Museum, and the brand-new Dublin Port Greenway, we welcome hundreds of thousands of visitors to Dublin Port annually, and we extend a particularly warm welcome to the Aware ‘Halfway Hooley’ walkers this March.”
*The survey was conducted by Amárch Research in January 2025 with a representative sample of 1000 people.