“Hope is important,” said Gráinne Seoige as she urged people to sign up for the Darkness Into Light fundraising event

Gráinne Seoige has revealed that she still enjoys Dancing With The Stars despite leaving the show – although now in a “cheerleader” role.

Galway native and her professional dance partner John Nolan were voted out of the popular RTÉ show after a dance party in late February. But she revealed that she still keeps in touch with her former contestants.

“You don’t really leave it when it’s happening, because the only other people the dancing celebrities can talk to are the people who understand what’s going on,” she told the Independent. ie.

“So I’m still talking to them, and still feel like a lot of it, even though I’m in a cheerleader role right now, but it’s been a great experience.”

She says she’s made lifelong friends from it, and she’s learned the one thing she’s always really wanted to do.

Gráinne revealed she wanted to continue dancing. “I definitely want to, absolutely.”

Talking about her time on the show, she said: “It was a competition, but it didn’t feel like it. We all worked exclusively with our professional partners, and all of us. going to be on Saturdays and rehearsals, and we’re all cheering for each other, and shouting for each other.

“So yeah, it’s been a very intense experience, and you’re like being cut out of your normal everyday life. You go into this kind of bubble, and it becomes your whole life. , it’s all consumable. The bond you create is very strong.”

However, she says she doesn’t have a big gap in her schedule despite leaving the show – she has her own high-jewelry business.

“I still have Grace Diamonds, my business, and I’m getting back to the game of catching up and running it. So it’s not that I’ve got a big gap, it’s that I’m trying to do everything. things around each other. It wasn’t easy, but I enjoyed every minute of it.”

She said that if there is a suitable TV project, she will gladly take it. “I’ll be totally open-minded, if it fits into my life and it fits into my broader schedule, I’ll be open to it.”

She added that she is about to start filming a documentary.

She lived in Pretoria, South Africa with her husband Leon Jordaan before the couple moved back to her hometown in 2020. “Pretoria is very arid, dry and sunny,” she said.

However, speaking of being at Galway, she said: “I can go for a walk to the ball any day I like with my dog, and it’s good for the soul, just being there. next to the sea, because I was raised by the sea.

“Being next to water is ‘meat and drink’ to me, it really is. It’s good for the soul, so I’d love to be back in Galway for that reason.”

She also enjoys being closer to her family and sees her three-and-a-half-month-old granddaughter Clíodhna, the daughter of her sister Síle.

“Having a new baby in the family is just a gift, the greatest joy, and we are all obsessed with her. She is gorgeous,” she said.

Gráinne was speaking today as she helped launch the annual Shadow to Light Fundraising Event, the fundraising event organized by Pieta, the promoterlife-saving support services for people suffering from suicide and those who have gone missing by suicide. It will take place at sunrise on Saturday, May 7.

“I’ve always known about Darkness into the Light, even living abroad like I did for 5 years. I really know about the events. Obviously over the last few years those events are held remotely. or individually, but this is the first year in a few years where we can all come back together and have shared experiences that I believe are a truly inspiring experience.

“I’m looking forward to joining and we’re looking for people to sign up. We all know that watching the sunrise is a great thing, and most of us don’t see it very often.

“To have the experience of seeing it as part of a community after all the isolation we’ve been through over the last couple of years, I think that’s a very strong signal to people in Ireland that Hope is very important.

“I think initiatives like Pieta House make it more important for people who are in crisis of suicide or the families who have lost their lives, that they are more important than ever right now.”

Gráinne hopes to go for a walk in Galway.

Darkness Into Light will see organized walks taking place in more than 17 countries across five continents, starting in the dark at sunrise and continuing until dawn, symbolizing the journey from despair to hope.

Famous faces from the sports and music worlds joined Gráinne today to kick off the 2022 event, including musician Tolu Makay and former Dublin GAA player Philly McMahon.

Gráinne added: “Up to 200,000 people have gathered around the world in previous years to walk in solidarity with those who are going through dark times and this year we wanted to encourage everyone to gather their groups. Get together and sign up to make a real difference.”

Calling everyone to register at www.darknessintolight.ie, ambassadors are reminding participants that by signing up for the event, they are making a valuable contribution to help raise funds for their life-saving work. Pieta in therapy and support services for people affected by suicide.

In 2021 alone, Pieta’s 24/7 Helpline received nearly 100,000 calls and texts as well as nearly 2,000 crisis calls and texts each week.

In response, the team at Pieta provides more than 4,000 hours of suicide and self-harm crisis therapy each month. Every day, seven more teenagers come to Pieta for one-on-one support.