page_title: History of the Irish in Holyoke
section_title: Events
hierarchical_section_title: History of the Irish in Holyoke / Events
caption_attribution_description: English: Runners leave the starting line on Maple Street, in the 44th annual Holyoke St. Patrick's Day Road Race, a 10k run hosted annually the Saturday before the St. Patrick's Parade.
context_page_description: From the beginning of the city's history as the western bank of Springfield, Irish families have resided in and contributed to the development of the civics and culture of Holyoke, Massachusetts. Among the first appellations given to the city were the handles "Ireland", "Ireland Parish", or "Ireland Depot", after the village was designated the 3rd Parish of West Springfield in 1786. Initially occupied by a mixture of Yankee English and Irish Protestant families, many of whom belonged to the Baptist community of Elmwood, from 1840 through 1870 the area saw a large influx of Irish Catholic workers, immigrants to the United States, initially from the exodus of the Great Famine. During that period Irish immigrants and their descendants comprised the largest demographic in Holyoke and built much of the early city's infrastructure, including the dams, canals, and factories.
context_section_description: Many of Holyoke's Irish cultural events center around the Holyoke St Patrick's Day Parade; leading up to it there are several events, including the Grand Colleen Pageant, typically held the first Saturday in January, of which five young women are selected who go on to the Grand Colleen Ball, at which one is crowned as the parade's Grand Colleen based on presentation and questions related to their Irish heritage.
  Other events include the Grand Marshal Reception, held the second Friday of January, a reception at The Student Prince in Springfield with participants of the parade such as the Mummers bands and Holyoke Caledonian Pipe Band, and two road runs. Since 2014, every September the Parade Committee has held the Halfway 5K Run, marking the six months before the next parade, and the better-known 10k, the Holyoke St. Patrick's Day Road Race. Hosted annually the day before the parade since 1975, it has been called by Olympian John Treacy "a miniature Boston", had a record 6,800 contestants complete the course in 2014, and was placed among the best St. Patrick's runs in the nation by Runner's World in 2019.
caption: Runners cross the starting line during the 44th annual St. Patrick's Road Race, 2019
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