HOLYOKE — Moira Catherine McDermott, a South Hadley High School senior and salutatorian whose ambition is to teach college-level math, was named the 66th annual Grand Colleen Saturday night.
McDermott, 17, a National Merit finalist who draws inspiration from her mother, said she was “very lucky and grateful” to be selected for top honors from the field of five Colleen finalists.
“It was surreal,” said McDermott, a member of her school’s swim and soccer teams.
As Grand Colleen, hers will be one of the featured floats in Holyoke’s legendary St. Patrick’s Day parade. Riding alongside will be her court — the other Colleen finalists: Emily M. Couture, Patricia A. Haradon, Natalie P. Mayko and Haley E. Dusseault. Couture was voted Bonnie Baker Miss Congeniality last month by the original field of 15 Colleen candidates.
Some 275 guests turned out for the St. Patrick’s Committee of Holyoke’s Grand Colleen Coronation Ball at the Log Cabin on Easthampton Road. Marc Joyce, president of the Parade Committee and a 43-year volunteer with the event, greeted the gathering and applauded the community support the parade and related events rely on.
“It’s a team effort,” he said, and “a family affair.” He spoke from particular experience: his daughter, Katie Joyce, was the Grand Colleen in 2002.
Hayley Dunn, Parade Committee spokeswoman, served as master of ceremonies. She listed the criteria the judges applied in evaluating the Colleen candidates — intelligence, personality, poise, overall appearance — and then introduced the night’s three judges.
Judge Kaitlyn Carter of Westfield was a member of the Colleen’s Court for Agawam in 2008. She served on the Agawam St. Patrick’s Committee for five years. Stefania Raschilla of East Longmeadow is the chief instructional officer for the Springfield Public Schools. She has been an elementary school teacher, reading specialist and school principal. Caitlin deOgbum of Montgomery is an operating room nurse at Cooley Dickinson Hospital. She was Westfield Colleen in 2006.
Eligibility to participate in the Colleen competition is confined to young women who are single (never married, never had a child) and reside either in Holyoke or South Hadley. They can be no younger than 17 and no older than 22 as of March 17, 2020. And they must claim Irish ancestry.
Also speaking at Saturday night’s affair was 2019 Grand Colleen Lauren Dulude, who suggested to the gathering that “we all share Colleen qualities,” such as patience, compassion and independent thinking. She urged her listeners to “give the gift of you” when out in the world.
Several Parade Committee volunteers were singled out for recognition and applause. Sharing the spotlight was Blessed Sacrament eighth-grader Anna Puttick, winner of the Grand Colleen Float Design Contest. Her design, “Rocky Road to Dublin,” was one of 200 submissions. Students at Dean Technical High School in Holyoke will construct this year’s Grand Colleen float based on Anna’s design.
Serving on the Coronation Committee are co-chairs Christina Reynolds and Abigail Scanlon, Stephanie Joyce, Devin Sheehan, Kimberly Izquierdo, Kathy Dulchinos and Hayley Dunn.