HOLYOKE — The St. Patrick’s Committee of Holyoke are set once again for the annual Michael T. Ahearn Golf Tournament, returning for its fourth year on Sunday, Oct. 6 at Wyckoff Country Club.
A longstanding tradition, this event was renamed in honor of esteemed former committee chair Ahearn who passed away in 2021 after a brief illness. Ahearn was the longtime organizer of the tournament from its infancy days as a smaller 9-hole gathering before Green Season kicked into high gear, to now a community gathering through 18 holes of golf featuring beer and spirits poured through the course, exciting raffles and more.
While registration has already been closed for this year’s tournament, event organizers Jeff Walsh and Johnny Driscoll told Reminder Publishing the event still serves as a kickoff to all the fun of Green Season in Holyoke and now for a fourth year it is another opportunity to remember the man Ahearn was and what he meant to the community.
“He was just one of those guys who I never saw angry. He always had a smile on his face and a nice thing to say to everybody and everybody will tell you that’s how he was. He was not negative on anything, he was a positive person who just brightened up any room he walked into,” said Walsh.
Driscoll added he quickly became a friend of Ahearn’s after meeting him.
“I think one of the first times I ever met Mike was at a general meeting and it was just like he came over and we were just best buds instantaneously,” Driscoll said. “He had a smile that would light up a room and he would fight for his causes on what he was working on with the parade committee.”
Walsh said when he started off on the Holyoke St. Patrick’s Committee, he was eager to find a way to contribute and thankfully after meeting Ahearn, an opportunity to join his efforts on the golf tournament came up and started a new friendship.
“The year that he passed he told me, ‘I want to turn this into an 18-hole tournament, let’s try and make some good money for the Parade Committee and do it at a Holyoke course,’ and that was our plan and then Mike passed,” Walsh said.
Walsh said with Ahearn’s passing, he and Driscoll took the lead and were able to create the vision Ahearn had, now entering its fourth year under the new look.
“It’s become a special day for the people who run the committee as well, to go out and just remember Mike and smile and have a good time on a great day,” Walsh said.
Driscoll said committee members put their whole hearts into the event as this was Ahearn’s “baby.”
“Once Mike passed away it was something we needed to take over and kind of make it bigger and better to honor him,” Driscoll said. “The old tournament was just a chance to get together. It wasn’t anything elaborate. It was just he wanted to go out with his friends, golf, have some drinks, have some fun and watch some football after. And so, we’ve kind of continued to do that through his legacy.”
Ahearn’s spirit is reflective of the Irish community in the city, said Walsh, and remembering him is fitting each year as the community gets set to celebrate the holiday season.
“With every swing, we hope to spread the spirit of St. Patrick and the Irish community here in Western Mass. This tournament is more than a game — it’s a tribute to our late friend and past President, Mike Ahearn, whose impact will forever guide us down the fairway and down the parade route,” said 2025 Parade President John Beaulieu.
Walsh said while each year gains more significance in remembering Ahearn, he hopes next year in the fifth iteration, it can continue to grow and serve as a nice milestone for a celebration of Ahearn’s life.
“I’m telling you anybody you’d ever meet about this guy he’d always have a smile on his face and make you feel like the most important person in the room,” Walsh said. “He just made everybody feel great about themselves and just was positive and such a good guy, he really was.”
Driscoll added the event continues to be a great afternoon of golf and company, all as an unofficial kick off to the months of St. Patrick’s celebrations to come.
“It’s a time to get together and celebrate Green Season a little bit early,” Driscoll added.
The 72nd Holyoke St. Patrick’s Parade will is slated for Sunday, March 23, 2025 and the 48th Holyoke St. Patrick’s Road Race will take place on Saturday, March 22, 2025.
