hoolihan, n. — Green’s Dictionary of Slang

hoolihan n.

[Hoolihan, an Irish surname, thus the stereotyped image of the riotous Irish + ? SE hooligan; however, note cowboy jargon hoolihan, to throw down a steer with a quasi-wrestling hold, poss. orig. anecdotal]

(US) a riotous event, a boisterous party.

1973		F. Carter Outlaw Wales 182: Seen him take on five pistoleros. He got three of ’em before they cut him down....It was a real hoolihan [HDAS].
1984		Smith SW Vocab. 105: Hoolihan: Generally preceded by [...] ‘throw,’ the word means to have a high old time, to paint the town, to raise hell. Ordinarily associated with partying, debauchery, and shooting up the town [DARE].

In phrases

throw the hoolihan (v.) (also throw the houlihan)

to celebrate riotously.

1931		‘I Ride an Old Paint’ in Lingenfelter et al. Songs of the Amer. West (1968) 378: I’m going to Montana for to throw the houlihan.
1944		R.F. Adams Western Words (1968) n.p.: Houlihan, throw the...to paint the town red.
2001		J. Curtis Sheriff Kill 173: You could even keep a few dollars for yourself and throw a real hoolihan in Laredo .