Fógraí bháis: 'Irish Billy' Briggs

THE death on Sunday, 15 June, of Billy Briggs was mourned in his own area of Trenton, New Jersey, USA, and widely elsewhere in America and in Ireland.
Known everywhere as ‘Irish Billy’ Briggs, he was at the heart of the Irish-American community in Trenton.  He ran Tir na nÓg, a well-known Irish bar where he was owner, manager, entertainer, advisor and supporter. As one of his friends said at his wake: “He was the heart of the area.”
Billy was a passionate Irish republican and a founding member of Irish Northern Aid.  He was also a talented musician and singer of traditional Irish and republican ballads.
Billy was waked at Tir na nÓg and his body brought to Ireland for burial according to his wishes.
He was buried in the graveyard in the small village of Killusty in Tipperary, where his wife, Margaret O’Donnell-Briggs, comes from. His coffin was flanked by a guard of honour from the Sands/McGrath Sinn Féin Cumann, Carrick on Suir, and the recently-formed flute band from Carrick on Suir led the funeral procession from the church to the graveyard.
Billy’s wife, Margaret, their twin daughters, Maireád and Ellen, his father, Russell, and sisters Sue and Coleen were supported by friends who had travelled with the cortège from Trenton, including the head of Irish Northern Aid, Paul Doris.
As well as family and friends from the locality, republicans from many parts of Ireland travelled to Billy’s funeral to pay their respects.
The setting of Killusty Church and cemetery at the foot of the Slievenamon Mountains made it a poignant moment when Billy’s father, at 86 years, stepped forward and sang Amazing Grace, followed by Billy’s brother-in-law, Joseph, whose beautiful rendition of Slievenamon was particularly moving and appropriate.
The Carrick on Suir band played a lament before wreaths were laid on the coffin. Sinn Féin Ard Rúnaí Rita O’Hare, formerly the party’s representative in the United States, gave the oration, paying tribute to Billy Briggs’s commitment to the cause of Irish freedom and justice. Rita conveyed sympathy to his family and friends on behalf of Sinn Féin.
‘Irish Billy’ Briggs will be missed by many people. He was only 56 but he had made a huge contribution to the cause he so passionately believed in and served.