I had first heard of Billy from Sligo Anne. She had just started living in Lambertville and herself and Nancy had just found Billy’s Irish Pub in Trenton. It was sometime in 1985/6 (not exactly sure) and I was living in Connecticut. She rang me laughing and could hardly tell me the story. She told me that she ordered a burger in this Irish Pub they had just found. When she saw how cigar ashes were spread on it she promptly called over the “waiter”(Billy she didn’t know he owns the place at the time)and said “look at that burger there’s ashes on it” so he picks up her plate blows off the ashes gives it back to her.
She laughed until she cried and she said he would be her friend forever!! The rest of course is history.
I began visiting Anne and sang with them at the old bar. When I moved to Lambertville a few years later I received so much help and a warm welcome from him and Anne and the all the community. Billy took me aside and said :” you have a gig here whenever you are not playing in New York” I can’t tell you all what that meant to me. His generosity and understanding was there and he was a true and loyal friend. He would faithfully drive to Lambertville on Friday and Saturday night’s to pick us both up and then back again. We had such laughs and that blooming cigar smoke stuck to everything! I suppose we were lucky we didn’t end up in a another state according to the other stories I heard!
The last time I saw Billy and Anne together was on the platform of the Trenton train station many years ago now. They had dropped me off and we had extra time before the train arrived. We stood on the platform there and just reminisced and just laughed and talked about everything. I never thought that it would be one the last times I saw them together.
God Bless Billy Briggs.
We Will Never Forget.
Slainte,
Mary Courtney
