MANY close friends of the late Paddy Dunican joined with Kilbeggan GAA for the annual Darkness Into Light walk on Saturday morning.

The event was organised just a week earlier and spearheaded by Henry Cleary who set up a Facebook page (paddy4pieta.org) with a target of raising €5,000.

Online donations have seen that amount more than double, while some substantial private donations have also been pledged. The walk, which stopped for a minute outside Paddy’s home, took place five weeks to the day since his untimely death.

After the walk, Henry Cleary said: “It was a great team effort. There were people who travelled from as far away as London, a reflection of ‘Brand Paddy’. Like all events, you meet new friends and we met a lot today. I might have thrown the ball in, but it took a team to pass it around and score.”