Gilligan, Billy
October 15, 2010Billy Gilligan was born in Mullingar, in the year of the Eucharistic Congress in 1932, the youngest of five children. He began his working career in the Post Office in Athlone in 1948. He then moved to Ballinasloe before transferring to Carrick-on-Shannon in 1950 where he spent the reminder of his working life until retirement in 1988 as Management Overseer. He was also an active trade unionist having served on the executive of the POMU.
While Billy worked all of his life in the post Office, he had a real passion for written. He wrote for the Leitrim Observer, Roscommon Herald, Longford Leader, Leitrim Leader and Westmeath Examiner. He also penned numerous articles for the annual Leitrim Guardian magazine. In many ways he was ahead of his time, albeit without computers to blog and web cams to skype. On his first trip to Australia in 1977, he wrote a series of articles of his page, "Impressions of lovely Leitrim by Willie B". He wrote the first article in Longhand en route from Singapore to Perth and asked a Singapore Airlines hostess to post it home to Leitrim Observer. At the time, there was a huge reaction in the county to his articles!
One of my favourite articles down through the years was on the topic of the impending demise of Corncrake. I recall the greatest it generated among his readers Sadly, due to modern-day agricultural methods in farming, his prediction has become a reality. In Keeping with his love of writing, Billy wrote and starred in a very humerous sketch for the St Mary's GAA Scor Novelty Act in 1980. It was aptly entitled, 'Up for the Match". It went on to win the Leitrim and Connacht finals and represented the county in the All-Ireland finals in Dublin.
Billy playing soccer while at school in Mullingar and continued to do so with Carrick United after coming to his adopted town. He was the regular goalkeeper on the St Mary's GAA team between 1951 and 1957 and in the process won a number of Leitrim Junior League and Championship medals. He also served with distinction as club secretary for three years under the chairmanship of the late George O'Toole. On one occasion Billy travelled to Ruislip to a Leitrim v London GAA match, surprising his daughter Michele who was studying nursing in Colchester. He was quite happy to stay with her in the nurses' quarters and settled into the students' life, socialising with all of her nursing colleagues. They enjoyed him and thought he was a really cool dad!
His native Westmeath's first All-Ireland Minor triumph in 1995 gave him great joy, an expensive I shared with him in the Cusack Stand on that memorable occasion.
Billy had a great love of music. In 2006 he was presented with the Ardagh and Clonmacnois Diocesan Service Medal in recognition of 50 years outstanding service to St Mary's church choir of which he was a member together with his wife, Helen. The Millennium choir was another outlet for Billy's musical talents and he sang with them in their annual concerts in Carrick, Mohill and Longford, travelled aboard for performances in New York (St Patrick's Cathedral), the Vatican, Rome, Prague and Budapest. He loved musicals and regularly travelled to London with Helen to see the latest West End productions.
It was no surprise that one of the first organisations Billy joined on coming to Carrick was the Breffni Youth Players Dramatic Society. He had been a talented and prolific actor in his youth in Mullingar and excelled in the Brefs in an endless number of productions under the watchful eye of Paddy Dillon during the 50's and 60's. he also found time to look after the financial affairs of the society serving as treasurer for 20 years. He appeared in a number of Breffni Players musical productions which were directed by his brother-in-law Joe Moore; his last stage apparance was in 'Guys and Dolls' in 1996.
Billy also gave of his time and commitment unselfishly, to a plethora of voluntary and community organizations. He was on the festival of the Shannon committee for many years, a founding member of the Carrick-on-Shannon and district historical society; served with distinction in the Kiltoghert Pioneer Centre, he was involved in the Leitrim people's Associations in Cork, Galway and Dublin, he was PRO for the Summerhill Residents Association, was involved in the annual Kiltoghert Adult Christmas Party for decades, was a valued member of St Mary's Hall Committee and had the responsibility of booking show bands for the very successful show dances which were held in the hall in the late 1960's and early 1970's and which raised much needed revenue for parish schools and churches. He engaged a unique approach to clear the hall of some late revellers one night when he let off a series of stink bombs! He was also a keen supporter and executive member of the National Community Games and travelled the length and breath of the country to athletic events with his daughters.
He loved reading, his native language, collecting old photos, competing in table quizes, local history and doing research. He even went back to school after he retired and completed a course in English and communications, boasting that he was the oldest pupils in Carrick-on-Shannon's new community school. He could have given the course himself.
Billy was the life and soul of any gathering of family, neighbours or friends. He had a wonderful sense of humour and an innate gift of improvisation. Billy could unashamedly laugh at himself and share the joke. His work-related funny incidents were priceless. He loved to tell story of the night he and I went to a wake in Drumshambo. We let ourselves into the wake-room and knelt to pray alone by the beside of the deceased taking a catnap! We had gone into the wrong room.
Billy was first and foremost a family man and put the needs of his devoted wife Helen and four daughters - Geraldine, twins Brenda and Sinead and Michelle - whom he dearly loved ahead of all other considerations. He doted on his eight grandchildren and had a great regard for his sons-in-law.
He will be dearly missed by his wife Helen who, as he said so himself, took better care of him than Florence Nightingale would have done. She attended to Billy's needs at home from the onset of his illness until he was taken into St Patrick's Community Hospital where he passed away on September 28th last. Helen and the family have always acknowledged the staff of St Patrick's for the wonderful care given to Billy. There was nothing they wouldn't do for him or for the family and they will always be remembered for their kindness.
It is said life is unending because love is undying. Throughout his life Billy showed great loved and it was in that he expressed his Christian faith, a faith that believes life is changed, not ended.
He is surely enjoying his eternal reward now with all who have gone before him.
Ni bheidh a leitheid ann aris.
Solas na bhFlathas ar a-anam uasal.
Courtesy of Sean Murray & The Leitrim Observer 15/10/10 Tweet
