Billy Mulligan

One of Charlottetown’s best known volunteers has a meeting room dedicated to this memory at the Charlottetown Eastlink Centre that overlooks the finish line area of the the Charlottetown Driving Park at Red Shores.
It’s rather ironic as Billy Mulligan had a great love for both hockey and harness racing.
An official dedication took place on October 12, 2024 in the new meeting place. A plaque was unveiled which honoured him and his memory.

William Driscoll “Billy” Mulligan passed away in June, 2021 at age 81 but left behind a legacy as a hockey player and coach and as a strong volunteer in many causes.
He was the last manager at the Charlottetown Forum and the first manager at the Charlottetown Civic Centre which is now the Eastlink Centre.
His wife Georgina and children Kelly and Alison were a big part of his life as were his grandchildren and great grandchild, Willie, Patrick, Riley and Ella and Seth. He loved to spend time with them.
Billy and brother Vince have left a fine mark on the Island capital and across Prince Edward Island. You would never meet two finer people.

Billy loved volunteering for good causes like the UPEI men’s hockey Panthers Booster Club, the Charlottetown Boys and Girls Club, KidSport and minor hockey by assisting in local tournaments. He was also an avid harness racing fan and loved to help around the Ron Matheson Stable here at Red Shores.
He was also an avid golfer although taking a few “mulligans” from time to time.
He certainly made a difference in the lives of many people over the years. He wanted to see people succeed. Billy, in his own quiet way, was not one to look for praise but rather was just happy to see people around him doing well.
Bill would often frequent the coffee shops around town, meeting up with his buddies and shooting the breeze with them.

Billy played for the St. Dunstan’s University Saints in 1962-63 playing centre on top line and helped them to a fourth place finishing while being named an all-star.
He was honoured for his devotion and dedication to the UPEI hockey program in 2014 with a banner raising in his name at the MacLauchlan Arena as a driving force behind fundraising events and booster club activities.
He lost an eye during a game when he was younger but never let that accident hinder him.
He coached and organized minor hockey and football in the city.

Billy contributed many hours to Charlottetown Minor Hockey, Colonel Gray High School, Prince of Wales College and several senior hockey leagues. He was the last manager at the old Charlottetown Forum succeeding Wes “Bucko” Trainor in the 1970’s and the first manager of the Civic Centre, now the East Link Centre in 1990.

He helped organize fundraising golf tournaments and other events for the Boys and Girls Club, KidSport and other sport organizations.
His role with the UPEI Booster Club saw him instrumental in helping organize the Annual Alumni Day games and the roll call of many of UPEI and St. Dunstan’s hockey heroes from the past on game night usually in January.

Billy could be quite a prankster. He and Charlie Ryan and sometimes others like Rickey Burns would pull some tricks on unsuspecting folks like Forbie Kennedy.
He had some favourite lines he liked to repeat given the situation such as “You’re drunk” and “He doesn’t know the war is over”.
All in good fun.

One time someone called Kennedy, who had been ejected from a junior hockey game with the Abbies the night before and told him “Dave Holland just said on the radio that you should be suspended for the rest of the year for all the trouble you caused last night at the rink.”
Forbie called the reporter minutes later and asked if he had said that during a sports cast.
"No way” was the answer and  there was proof on tape.
"Someone is pranking you.”
There was a pause and then Forbie blurted out “Mulligan!”

Billy was a kind man. He took a special needs young man named Michael Murnaghan under is wing. Michael was at many hockey games at the old Forum and Civic Centre. He was always welcome in Billy’s office as most were. It became a “Hot Stove Lounge” between periods on game night frequented by people like Holland, Bill McGuire, Donnie Morrison, Bruno Bernard, Chuckie Keating, Barry Doyle and well know heckler Joe Gallant.

The new meeting room is on the second floor of the Eastlink Centre and is open to the public is dedicated to Billy's memory.