Holyoke Saint Patrick's Day Parade

Holyoke St. Patrick's Day Parade
Status	Active
Genre	Parade
Frequency	Annually
Location(s)	Holyoke, MA
Country	United States of America
Inaugurated	March 16, 1952 [1]
Attendance	400,000
Organized by	Holyoke St. Patrick's Parade Committee
Website	http://holyokestpatricksparade.com
March 17, 2024

Holyoke Saint Patrick's Day Parade is hosted every year on the Sunday of the week of Saint Patrick's Day. Each parade usually attracts around 400,000 spectators from all over the United States of America. Past participants have included President John F. Kennedy, two Speakers of the House and other notable officials. ^[2]

History

Then-Massachusetts Senator John F. Kennedy in attendance at the 1958 Holyoke St. Patrick's Parade, receiving an honor as an "outstanding American of Irish parentage" from parade committee President James F. Millane, on the lawn of the Holyoke City Hall. Following Kennedy's assassination, the award was renamed the "John F. Kennedy National Award" in his honor.

Drawing on the Irish heritage of Holyoke, in its earliest days known as "Ireland Parish", the inaugural Saint Patrick's Day Parade was hosted on March 16, 1952, after a group of local businessmen met at the local Brian Boru Club and proposed the idea. Since that time the Holyoke Saint Patrick's Parade Committee which has since grown to more than 100 people and presents multiple awards to distinguished citizens every year. ^[5]

As with the United States at-large, the parade has been widely participated in by people both of Irish and non-Irish heritage alike, ^[6] and has come to be a reflection of Holyoke's syncretic culture, an example being local vendors selling such combinations as Café con leche with Irish soda bread, and wide variety of bands participating from all over the country, including but not limited to, the Aqua String Band, the Hawthorne Callaberos, and the Tian Guo Marching Band. ^{[7] [8] [9]} Citing concerns about the coronavirus pandemic, in 2020 the parade and several associated events were cancelled for the first time in its 68 year run. ^[10] It went on hiatus the next year before it resumed in 2022.

Attendance

Parade Spectator Estimates By Year (1952–Present)

Year	Spectators (est.)
1952	25,000 [11]
1960	100,000 [12]
1965	60,000 [13]
1970	100,000 [5]
1975	200,000 [14]
1980	250,000 [15]
1985	175,000 [16]
1991	250,000 [17]
2003	250,000 [18]
2009	350,000 [19]
2011	400,000 [20]
2017	400,000 [21]
2020-21	0

Since its inaugural event in 1952, the parade has grown substantially; while the first parade saw around an estimated 25,000 spectators, in recent years the estimated number of spectator's has exceeding 400,000, approximately ten times the population of Holyoke as of the most recent census. ^{[11] [21]} The event, considered as much a regional as local venue, attracts many spectators from surrounding states and even Ireland itself in recent years. In 2011 the UMass Donahue Institute estimated the parade brought in $20 million annually to the local economy, through its participants and spectators. ^[22]

Honorees

Robert Barrett Jr., president of the Holyoke Water Power Company and a recipient of the parade's Citizenship Award, tips his hat to spectators in the 1969 parade

Each year since its first iteration, the parade has had a parade president and grand marshal; in 1955 the first Colleen was chosen and given her own court and throne. Over the years a number of other awards have been created, including the Thomas Rohan Award (1957), named for the first grand marshall, for citizens contributing outstanding work to the parade; the John F. Kennedy Award (1958), named for its inaugural recipient, has been given to an "Outstanding American of Irish Descent" each year since that time and has included nationally known singers, actors, athletes, writers, an astronaut, mayors of Boston, several governors, senators, and Speakers of the House. Additional awards include the Citizenship Award (1966) honoring those of non-Irish descent who have made substantial contributions to the parade, the George E. O’Connell Award (1963) to members of the parade committee who have made longstanding efforts to fundraising, the Daniel J. Gallivan Award (1972) for others who have made significant contributions to the parade who do not reside in Holyoke, and the Ambassador Award (1992) to those who promote international ties between the United States and Ireland. ^[23]

Parade Honorees (1952–Present) ^[24]

Year	Grand Colleen	Grand Marshal	John F. Kennedy Award Recipient
1952		Tom Rohan
1953		John S. Begley
1954		Daniel J. O'Connell
1955	Kathleen O'Sullivan	Emmett C. Cauley
1956	Mary Monaghan	Dr. Elmer J. Harrington
1957	Maureen Murphy	William P. Sullivan
1958	Geraldine Lawler	William R. Peck	John F. Kennedy
1959	Ann Burke	William E. Nolen	Jeremiah J. Minnehan
1960	Sheila McCormick	John J. Driscoll	John F. Collins
1961	Susan Hobert	Michael H. Moran	Christopher Joseph Weldon
1962	Francine Dillon	Maurice A. Donahue	Bob Considine
1963	Joan Riley	Eugene P. O'Neill	William Gargan
1964	Kathleen Kennedy	Jeremiah J. Lawler	James B. Donovan
1965	Mary Ellen McGinty	Joseph F. Lynch	James J. Shea
1966	Margaret Shevlin	Joseph J. Kelly	Edward M Kennedy
1967	Janet Kelly Desrosiers	Thomas W. Padden	Tommy Loughran
1968	Una Petcen	William J. Dean	Larry O'Brien
1969	Deborah Kennedy	James F. Millane	Richard Cushing
1970	Kathleen Welch	Frank R. King	John N. Dempsey
1971	Ann Marie O'Brien	William G. Rogers	Pat O'Brien
1972	Nancy Rainville	David M. Bartley	Timothy J. Dacey, Jr.
1973	Sherry Lee McFadden	Timothy J. Sullivan	John W. McCormack
1974	Mary Ann Croke	George E. Frost	Jim Bishop
1975	Martha Marie Donohue	William W. Mahoney	Thomas P. Salmon
1976	Ann Marie Abel	Richard J. Murphy	Edward Bennett Williams
1977	Patricia Marie Dean	Francis J. Baker	Jimmy Breslin
1978	Katherine M. Quirk	Edward F. Sheehy	Tip O'Neill
1979	Corrine Baker	John F. Moriarty	Dan Devine
1980	Patricia Ann Long	James J. Shea	Art Rooney
1981	Ann Dean	Edward "Sarge" Nugent	William A. Nolen
1982	Patricia O'Connor	Maurice B. Martin	Maureen O'Hara
1983	Karen Barrett	John T. Hickey	Joseph F. Maguire
1984	Alyssa Fitzpatrick	James "Barry" Farrell	Edward Boland
1985	Maureen Simonds	James E. O'Leary	Frank McGuire
1986	Kerry Ann Moriarty	Leo Edward O'Neil	William A. O'Neill
1987	Theresa Clark	Anne Hearn McHugh	Dennis Day
1988	Ruth Ellen Allyn	Bernard M. Lavelle	Thomas Flatley
1989	Anne Marie O'Connell	Thomas J. Donahue	Neil Sheehan
1990	Mary Deleva	James K. Kelly	Leo Edward O'Neil
1991	Christine Brill	Patrick B. Bresnahan	Carmel Quinn
1992	Candice McKenzie	Edward B. "Pop" Coughlin	Tom Clancy
1993	Heather Bresnahan	Maurice J. Ferriter	Mary Rose McGeady
1994	Kara Elizabeth Shanahan	Robert J. Rohan	Raymond Flynn
1995	Marikate Moriarty	Charles W. "Bill" Dinn	Eoin McKiernan
1996	Shaena A. Smalley	Francis M. Baker	Robert Stack
1997	Mary Kate Cartier	John E. McHugh	John J. Sweeney
1998	Kimberly Lyn Willis	Daniel E. Tierney	Richard I. Neal
1999	Abby Gordon Woods	Francis M. Kane	Patti Ann, Conor, & Steven McDonald
2000	Abbey Louise McLaughlin	Francis X. Sullivan	Richard E. Neal
2001	Elizabeth Ann Cartier	Joseph F. McGuire	John Shea
2002	Kathleen C. Joyce	James A. Curran	Daniel Coughlin
2003	Mary Kate Moynihan	Peter F. Brady	William J. Flynn
2004	Sheila Maureen Murphy	Joseph V. Gosselin, Jr.	Catherine Coleman
2005	Carolyn Patricia McLain	Russell J. McNiff Sr.	Tom O'Brien
2006	Katy Beth Brunelle	Frederick L. Sullivan	Tom Ridge
2007	Kim Erin Elliott	Alan F. Cathro	Dan Shaughnessy
2008	Ashley M. Reidy	Ann M. Gibbons	Fran Healy
2009	Ashley R. Tucker	Christine Padden Zajac	Joseph Loughrey
2010	Rosalyn C. Chesky	Joseph M. McGiverin	Dan Rooney
2011	Meaghan Leahy	Gerald D. Healy	David McCullough
2012	Brianna M. Fitz	Barry J. Farrell	Kevin O’Hara
2013	Brieanna M. Gresh	Brian Q. Corridan	Doris Kearns Goodwin
2014	Sheila S. Fallon	Roger P. Donoghue	Dick and Rick Hoyt
2015	Allyson Craven	Raymond H. Feyre	John M. Maguire
2016	Meghan N. Ryan	Patricia C. Devine	Micky Ward
2017	Margaret Walsh	Jane Morrissey	Ann Dowd
2018	Madelynne Kelleher	David “Archie” Donoghue	Archie Roberts
2019	Lauren Dulude	Roger Reidy, Jr.	T. J. Jagodowski
2020	Moira McDermott	John “Jay” Driscoll	David Glidden
2021
2022	Moira McDermott	John “Jay” Driscoll	David Glidden

Media coverage

The parade also enjoys an audience beyond its participants, with more than 1.2 million viewers watching over the channel and online streams of local PBS affiliate WGBY, which broadcast it every year from 2001 through 2018. ^{[25] [26]} WWLP resumed as the broadcaster of the parade in 2019 through its CW channel, and also included a livestream. Other local media outlets including WGGB-TV and the Springfield Republican also cover the event.

Gallery

• 
  Various scenes of the Parade, 1973
• 
  Flag carrying officers of the Holyoke Police Dept. leading the Saint Patrick's Parade, 2019
• 
  Parade floats, including the Peter Pan parade bus, move toward downtown on Beech Street
• 
  The Caledonian Pipe Band performing in the parade, preceding the Grand Marshall's party

See also

• History of the Irish in Holyoke
• Holyoke Caledonian Pipe Band, regular feature in the parade since the first and oldest continuously operating pipe band in North America
• Saint Patrick's Day

References

1. 1976  Congressional Record, Vol. 122, Page  6982 (March 17, 1976) Extensions of Remarks by Rep. Silvio O. Conte. Mr. Speaker, today, as the Irish- and as is popularly said, those who wish they were Irish-- celebrate the feast of the patron saint of Ireland, St. Patrick, I salute the 25th anniversary of the Holyoke, Mass. St. Patrick's Day parade. I would also like to take this opportunity to commend the Irish-American community in that city and around the country in this Bicentennial Year on the great contributions the Irish have made to the building of America. The Holyoke St. Patrick's Day parade is an event that annually draws throngs of hundreds of thousands of spectators to the city of Holyoke. Twenty-five years ago, on March 16, 1952, the first Holyoke St. Patrick's Day parade stepped off on High Street under the direction of parade committee officials, William Lunney, president; William P. Sullivan, vice president; Thomas Mulvihill, secretary; and Emmett J. Cauley, treasurer.
2. Holyokestpatricksparade.com Archived April 19, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
3. "Sen. Kennedy to Receive Plaque Sunday in Holyoke". Springfield Union. Springfield, Mass. March 11, 1958. p. 26.
4. O'Connor, Katie (March 15, 2018). "Meet the 2018 Holyoke St. Patrick's Parade Award winners". MassLive. Archived from the original on March 15, 2018.
5. "Big Day in Holyoke". Springfield Union. Springfield, Mass. March 22, 1970. p. 1.
6. Richard P. Mcbrien (13 October 2009). Lives of the Saints: From Mary and St. Francis of Assisi to John XXIII and Mother Teresa. HarperOne. ISBN   9780061763656 . Retrieved 13 November 2010. The most famous church in the United States is dedicated to him, Saint Patrick's in New York City. Saint Patrick's Day is celebrated by people of all ethnic backgrounds by the wearing of green and parades. His feast, which is on the General Roman Calendar, has been given as March 17 in liturgical calendars and martyrologies. The Church of England, the Episcopal Church in the USA, and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America observe his feast on this day, and Saint Patrick is also commemorated on the Russian Orthodox calendar.

   • Rodriguez, Ivelisse (2019). Love War Stories. New York: Feminist Press at CUNY. p. 30. ISBN   9781936932283. To this day, everyone in Holyoke still attends the Saint Patrick's Day parade. Can you imagine anything more absurd than a bunch of Puerto Ricans at a Saint Patty's Day parade?

7. Armstrong, Price (April 4, 2019). "How Irish is Holyoke Actually?". Pioneer Valley Planner. Archived from the original on September 15, 2019.
8. DeForge, Jeanette (March 18, 2019). "Holyoke St. Patrick's Day Parade attracts more bands, more floats, more crowds". The Republican. Springfield, Mass. Archived from the original on September 15, 2019.
9. Harty, Patricia. "Holyoke's Irish Heart". Irish America. Irish America, LLC. Archived from the original on September 10, 2018.
10. "Holyoke St. Patrick's Parade, Road Race canceled due to coronavirus concerns". Chicopee, Mass.: WWLP 22 News. March 10, 2020.
    • Connors, Michael (March 10, 2020). "Holyoke St. Patrick's Parade canceled over coronavirus". Daily Hampshire Gazette. Northampton, Mass. This year's St. Patrick's Parade and Road Race were canceled by the city Tuesday amid growing concerns over the spread of the new coronavirus — the first time in history the parade has been called off, according to a top parade official.
11. "On Parade in Holyoke". Springfield Union. Springfield, Mass. March 17, 1952. p. 2.
12. "Mr. Weatherman Smiles On Big, Colorful Holyoke St. Patrick's Day Parade". Springfield Union. Springfield, Mass. March 21, 1960. p. 1.
13. "St. Patrick's Cheeks Nipped By Weatherman in Holyoke". Springfield Union. Springfield, Mass. March 22, 1965. p. 1.
14. Perkins, Robert; Siteman, Linda (March 24, 1975). "200,000 View Holyoke Parade". Springfield Union. Springfield, Mass. p. 1.
15. Lightstone, Helayne (March 24, 1980). "Irish strut their stuff; 'Sun of Erin' graces St. Patrick's parade". Springfield Union. Springfield, Mass. p. 1.
16. Lauer, Martin J. (March 16, 1985). "St. Pat's parade crowds expected to brave wet, chill". Springfield Union. Springfield, Mass. p. 10H.
17. Woodlief, Wayne (March 18, 1991). "Hopefuls join the show in Holyoke". Boston Herald. p. 9.
18. "History - Holyoke St. Patrick's Parade". St. Patrick's Committee of Holyoke, Inc. 2004. Archived from the original on 2004-04-30. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
19. "Western Mass. city holds St. Patrick's parade". The Berkshire Eagle. Pittsfield, Mass. March 22, 2009.
20. Vaisanen, Raija; Wong, Raija (February 2011). Economic Contribution Analysis of the 2011 Holyoke St. Patrick's Parade (PDF) (Report). UMass Donahue Institute. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 February 2018.
21. Kelly, Ray (March 17, 2017). "2017 Holyoke St. Patrick's Parade guide: Where to watch, what to know". MassLive. Archived from the original on 17 March 2017.
22. Wong, Hinlan; Vaisanen, Raija (February 2012). Economic Contribution Analysis of the 2011 Holyoke St. Patrick's Parade (PDF) (Report). UMass Donahue Institute. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-02-20.
23. Past Parades (1952–2001) (PDF) (Report). Holyoke St. Patrick's Day Parade Committee. 2001. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 24, 2019.
24. "Awards". Holyoke St. Patrick's Parade Committee. 2019. Archived from the original on July 10, 2019.
    • "Colleens". Holyoke St. Patrick's Day Parade Committee. 2019. Archived from the original on August 24, 2019.
25. "History of the St. Patrick's Parade in Holyoke, MA". St. Patrick's Committee of Holyoke, Inc. Archived from the original on 20 February 2018.
26. "Holyoke Saint Patrick's Parade". WGBY Public Television. WGBY TV. Retrieved 3 March 2018.

Further reading

• Blais, Madelaine (March 26, 1995). "The Queen of the Green". The New York Times Magazine. pp. 58–63.
• Gold, Catherine Dower (2001). Fifty Years of Marching Together 1952-2001: A Social History of the St. Patrick's Committee of Holyoke, Massachusetts Parade. Westhampton, Mass.: Edgar C. Alward & Jean A. Alward; Esparto Press.
• Past Parades (1952–2001) (PDF) (Report). Holyoke St. Patrick's Day Parade Committee. 2001. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 24, 2019.
• Wong, Hinlan; Vaisanen, Raija (February 2012). Economic Contribution Analysis of the 2011 Holyoke St. Patrick's Parade (PDF) (Report). UMass Donahue Institute. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-02-20.

External links

External audio
Holyoke in Green, 1:50, song by John Quinn, W.G. Records, circa 1970
Queen of the Green, 3:11, song by Edwin Thaute, performed by John Quinn, W.G. Records, circa 1970

• Official website, Holyoke St. Patrick's Committee
• WGBY Official Stream, WGBY-57 PBS Springfield

• Holyoke St Patrick's Parade: Behind the Scenes, WGBY video chronicling setup of parade in 2010

Parade Committees

Surrounding municipality committees organized to send delegations of honored persons, floats, and community groups as contingents to the parade-

• Agawam St. Patrick's Committee
• Chicopee St. Patrick's Parade Committee
• Greater Easthampton St. Patrick's Day Committee, representing Easthampton and Southampton
• Northampton St. Patrick's Association
• Springfield St. Patrick's Committee
• Sons of Erin, organizing Westfield's Parade Contingent
• St. Patrick's Committee of West Springfield