in this Publican's Perch we meet Billy Mulligan, a renowned Irish singer and musician. You may enjoy hearing him sing a song or two. Minimize the player window so they play as you peruse this page.

1.  SONG FOR LUKE KELLY           2.  TRADITIONAL TUNES

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A FRIENDSHIP IN BETWEEN SETS

“No fare thee wells we’ll sing, for we’ll always remember that red haired young rake with the well earned whiskey tenor…”                                                                                                                           “Song for Luke Kelly” by Billy Mulligan

THE PERCHING PUBLICAN HIMSELF

I recently received a photo via email of my old friend Billy Mulligan. The image brought on a smile, for there he was parked behind a glass of Guinness in much the same manner as he was in the only other photo I had of him, taken some thirty plus years ago. Back then we were both fairly insightful young men, and I suspect we had a sense of the coming marvels of the digital age, (emails and the like). But I don’t believe either one of us would have predicted the possibility of draught Guinness in a can. I first met Billy at Molly Malone’s Pub in Whippany New Jersey. We struck up a friendship in between his sets of ballads of romance and rebellion. During those breaks, while soaking up the stout, we’d converse about the “troubles” in both Ireland and America. Over the next fifteen years we would reconvene for that tête-à-tête in a number of bars scattered throughout Jersey and New York City. I came to know Billy as someone who was equally passionate and principled about both his music and his life. He was that rare performer who was the same person whether on stage or off. Our late night philosophical musings concluded at the end of the 1980s, after Billy and his wife Clare moved to Charlotte, North Carolina. We’ve spoken by phone only a few of times since then; but each of those conversations could have just as easily occurred at some Irish bar in Belfast or the south Bronx. Nothing had changed. Time had not dulled the passion or diminished the principles. Billy Mulligan remains true to his word - and true to his song.