The Holyoke community gathers to kick off Irish Heritage Month with a flag raising at City Hall on March 2.
Reminder Publishing photo by Tyler Garnet
HOLYOKE — With St. Patrick’s Day on the horizon, the Ancient Order of Hibernians James A. Curran Division 1 and the Ladies Order of Hibernians Division 2 of Hampden/Hampshire Counties gathered at Holyoke City Hall on March 2 to celebrate Irish American Heritage Month.
Hibernian President Joseph O’Connor presided as Master of Ceremonies. St Patrick’s Parade President Jim Wildman, Parade Grand Marshal Michael Moriarty, Ladies Order of Hibernians President Mary Kate O’Connor, and President Sean Cahillane of the Irish Cultural Center of Western New England all spoke to the efforts of the LOAH and AOH in keeping the Irish heritage strong.
2026 grand colleen Jadyn Lois Christie and her court were also present at the event. Holyoke Mayor Joshua Garcia, state Rep. Pat Duffy and other city officials showed their support at the celebration.
Reminder Publishing photo by Tyler Garnet
Last year, Garcia served as the grand marshal of the St. Patrick’s Day parade in Holyoke’s sister city, Tralee, Ireland.
“Irish hospitality cannot be described in just a few words,” Garcia shared. “They were welcoming and they were extremely generous. We were treated like family, and when our parade contingent marched past the reviewing stand on March 17 last year, the loudspeakers blasted out ‘Massachusetts’ by the Bee Gees and the crowd went crazy.”
Garcia then reflected on the present day, stating, “Today, we celebrate heritage, resilience and the generations of Irish Americans who helped build Holyoke; brick by brick, canal by canal, neighborhood by neighborhood.”
Approximately 31.5 million Americans claim Irish Ancestry. The green on the flag symbolizes Roman Catholics and nationalism; the orange represents Protestant minority and, the white in between the two colors sybmolizes hope for lasting peace between the two.
The U.S. Congress designated March as Irish American Heritage Month in 1991 to recognize the contributions Irish Americans have made to the country. The Ancient Order of Hibernians was founded in New York City in 1836 and established in Holyoke in 1880.
With green season in full swing and the Saint Patrick’s Committee of Holyoke gearing up for a month full of events leading up to parade weekend, Wildman shared his excitement.
“On one weekend a year, the parade, the road race and all the activities generate over $20 million in a single weekend, which is nothing but great for the city and the region,” he stated. “We’re looking forward to keeping that going. Thank you everybody for having us here, and we look forward to the next three weeks leading up to the road race and the parade.
The 49th Annual St. Patrick’s 10k Road Race will take place on Saturday, March 21, followed by the 73rd Holyoke St. Patrick’s Parade on Sunday, March 22.
Moriarty shared he is looking forward to leading the parade and joked that that in February, he used whatever “mojo you get from being marshal” to manifest all of the snow so “we could get it out of our system.”
The event concluded with LOAH Woman of the Year Catherine “Kit” Collamore and OAH Man of the Year Jordan Lemieux raising the Irish flag at City Hall as the crowd sang the Irish National Anthem. Guests were invited inside for refreshments.
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