The St. Patrick’s Committee of Holyoke announced that its 69th Grand Marshal is Holyoke resident, attorney John J. Driscoll.

The Grand Marshal is the highest local honor given to a person who has distinguished themselves as a loyal person to their career, their family, and to their Irish ancestry. The announcement was made at the grand opening of the PeoplesBank Pedlar Banking center along the Parade route.  

Parade President, Marc Joyce said "The selection of Atty. John J. (Jay) Driscoll as the Holyoke St. Patrick’s Committee’s Parade Grand Marshal of our 69th Parade in 2020 is outstanding news for our Committee and the Holyoke community at large. I would like to express my appreciation to the Marshal’s Selection Committee, co-chaired by former Marshals David “Archie” Donoghue and Barry Farrell, for making this fine choice, and I very much look forward to being with Jay and the entire Driscoll family in the coming months as they celebrate his well-deserved selection.”

“In 2020, Jay Driscoll will lead our 69th Annual Parade exactly 60 years after his late father, John J. Driscoll, M.D., when the well-known doctor served as the 1960 Grand Marshal. We welcome Jay Driscoll to our Committee as he joins his father as a St. Patrick’s Parade Grand Marshal.”

 A graduate of Holyoke High School, Boston College and Boston College Law School, Jay is Partner at the Law Offices of Resnic, Beauregard, Waite, and Driscoll in Holyoke. 

A life-long resident of Holyoke, Jay has spent the last 40-plus years honorably serving his community. A long-time member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians Division 1, Jay is also its Past President, long-time Chair of the annual St. Patrick’s Family Communion Breakfast and was honored as “Hibernian Man of the Year” in 2011.

Jay has strong ties to local business and civic organization having served on the Boards, and in leadership positions, of the Greater Holyoke Chamber of Commerce, where he was recognized as the Chamber’s “Business Person of the Year” in 2008, and the Holyoke Community College Board of Trustees, where he was a 2015 recipient of the “Distinguished Service Award”. He currently serves as Board Chair of the Holyoke Community College Foundation. 

In 2018, Jay was the recipient of the “William G. Dwight Distinguished Service Award for Continued Community Service”, presented by the Holyoke Rotary Club and the family of William G. Dwight.

Jay also supports the important work of organizations like Dana Farber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund. He has run the Falmouth Road Race as part of the Dana Farber running team and has completed the Pan Mass Challenge seven times - personally raising over $80,000 for cancer research.

Married to Eileen (Healy) for over forty years, they are proud parents to Nora, John, and Kathleen and are doting grandparents to Lucy and Owen Spaulding and Connie and Erin McMahon. Jay is incredibly proud that his children have carried on his commitment to service, including as active members of the Ancient Order of Hibernians. His son, John, is also a long-time member of the Parade Committee and serves as the Parade’s Town Crier.

“I am thrilled and humbled to be selected as Grand Marshal for the 2020 Parade” Jay said. “The Parade Committee is one of Holyoke’s great civic and cultural organizations and to be recognized by them is truly an honor. I will do everything I can to help make this year’s Parade and accompanying festivities as successful as they can be, including guaranteeing a sunny, 60-degree day – because that’s what my father delivered sixty years ago as the 1960 Grand Marshal. I’m incredibly proud to follow in my father’s footsteps and march in the Parade with my own family.”

Atty. Jay Driscoll was honored at the Grand Marshal's Reception on Friday, January 10, 2020, at the Log Cabin in Holyoke.

 The 69th Holyoke St. Patrick's Parade will be held on Sunday, March 22, 2020, and the 45th St. Patrick’s Road Race will be held on Saturday, March 21, 2020. For more information, please visit our website at www.holyokestpatricksparade.com.

This article was submitted to the IrishCentral contributors network by a member of the global Irish community. To become an IrishCentral contributor click here.