NORTHAMPTON — As February gives way to March, it can only mean that the Holyoke St. Patrick’s Day parade is just around the corner, and Northampton delegates are gearing up to participate.

Serving as grand marshal in the parade for Northampton this year is Ken O’Brien, the former longtime football coach for Northampton High School who since his retirement from coaching has taken an active role in the Northampton St. Patrick’s Association, hosting “Heritage Nights” where members learn more about Irish history.

“When I first got involved, it was very parade-centric,” O’Brien said. “I’ve started pushing to do something that involves talking about Irish history and heritage.”

Previous topics at the Heritage Night events include periods of Irish history such as the Great Famine, Irish independence leader Michael Collins as well as more local figures like James Lucey, an Irish immigrant in Northampton who formed a lifetime friendship with U.S. President Calvin Coolidge.

O’Brien is currently planning a Heritage Night discussion on two famous female warriors in Irish history: the legendary Queen Medb and Grace O’Malley, the “Pirate Queen” who was active in 16th century Ireland.

“I’ve always been interested in history, mostly 19th century American history,” O’Brien said. “But when I got involved with the St. Patrick’s association, I did an ancestry test and found out I was 85% Irish. So I started getting into Irish stuff, it was a new topic and it piqued my interest.”

O’Brien, who graduated from Northampton High School in 1970, spent 12 of his 40 years with the Northampton program as head coach. He assumed the head job when the late Frank Tudryn left for Florida in 2000. Under O’Brien, the Blue Devils reached consecutive Super Bowls in 2003 and 2004.

O’Brien said he felt honored to be chosen as Northampton’s grand marshal for the Holyoke St. Patrick’s Day Parade, one of the largest such parades in the country.

“You look at a list of people who have been marshals, and we’ve been keeping track of it since the 1980s, there’s a lot of people who played a role in my youth growing up,” he said. “It’s a great honor to be on that list of people.”

Gilboy namedBrennan Award winner

Also participating for the Northampton contingent in this year’s parade is Meggan Gilboy, who is being honored with the James Brennan Award by the Northampton St. Patrick’s Association. The award is given to a member who has actively committed to helping the association carry out its goals.

Gilboy is the immediate past president of the association and continues to serve on the board. She served as president from 2016-2020 before being succeeded by current president Erin Cahillane. In her day-to-day life, Gilboy works as a pharmacy technician at the Northampton CVS.

“I’m honored that I was acknowledged for this award, that they’ve seen how hard I worked and how much I’ve helped with the association,” Gilboy said. “No one ever expects it, but it’s still a huge honor.”

The Northampton St. Patrick’s Association is also planning two events before the Holyoke parade on March 17 as part of the seasonal festivities.

On March 9, the association will have an awards ceremony at the Northampton Elks Lodge to celebrate the winners of the association’s student awards, Alex Sirois and Matan Ryan. On March 15, the association will host its annual Irish Breakfast at Hotel Northampton before moving to Fitzwilly’s for a toast and then holding the Daley and Halligan Memorial Ceremony at noon on Village Hill.

The 71st annual 2.65-mile parade will kick off earlier this year at 11:10 a.m. from Kmart Plaza on Route 5 and ends on High Street. Road closures typically begin around about an hour prior. The 47th annual road race will take place a day earlier, on March 16, at 1 p.m. For more parade information, visit holyokestpatricksparade.com/

Alexander MacDougall can be reached at amacdougall@gazettenet.com.