Billy Briggs created more than just a bar when he opened Tír na nOg on Hamilton Avenue in Trenton in 1991. He also created a community.
And although the man widely known as “Irish Billy Briggs” died in 2008, his bar, his legacy and that community endure to this day.
The Ancient Order of Hibernians Division No. 10 is a fraternal organization that sees Tír na nOg as a sort of second home. In 2010, Division 10 created a scholarship program in Briggs’ name as a way to honor him.
Each year, the program sends two high school seniors on a three-week journey to County Donegal, Ireland, where they are immersed in Irish culture and history.
Michaela McFadden and Lauren Tracey were the first two winners of the scholarship. Thirteen years later, the Steinert High graduates remain a part of the program, serving as co-chairs.
To help raise some of the funds needed to keep the scholarship going, 10 intrepid runners are set to take part in the “Three Pint Challenge,” a five-mile trek starting at The Blend Bar and Bistro on Route 33 in Hamilton, and ending at Tír na nOg.
The route will take the runners by another local bar, Killarney’s Publick House in Hamilton, and the runners have pledged to drink a pint of beer at all three locations before continuing to the finish.
Tír na nOg owner Todd Faulkner is among those set to take part. Also planning to run are Dennis Griffin, John Knapp, Toby Oberg, Eoin O’Reilly, Natalie Wilson, Justin Lotter, Eric Nutt, Bryan Wible and Katie Gallagher. Many of the runners are either Division 10 members, Tír na nOg regulars, or both.
The run is scheduled for Sunday, May 7. Though Steinert High School grads McFadden and Tracey won’t be taking part in the run, they are certainly supporters of the event, whose runners look to raise more than $6,000 to help cover the costs of the scholarship program.
“It was Todd’s idea,” Tracey says. “He reached out to us and said we would love to do this and give the money to the Billy Briggs Memorial Scholarship. Todd has kept Tír na nOg exactly the same (as it was when Briggs owned it), and I think Billy would be really proud.”
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Briggs was born in Camden and grew up in Bordentown, graduating from Bordentown Regional High School. But his great passion was Irish causes.
He was a naturalized Irish citizen and a co-founder of the Luke Dillon Division of Irish Northern Aid. He received an Irish Patriot award from Sinn Féin vice president Pat Doherty. Briggs married an Irish woman, Margaret O’Donnell, with whom he had two children, twins Mairéad and Ellen. After his death, Briggs was buried in Ireland in accordance with his wishes.
Tracey and McFadden, both first generation Irish-Americans, say that when their fathers, Jude and Mark, immigrated to the U.S. from Ireland, they sought out Billy Briggs. Jude Tracey has been a bartender at Tír na nOg since the year it opened.
Faulkner says he and wife Maureen have always looked for more ways to support a scholarship that bears the name of the person who created the pub that they now own.
“It’s a great way to keep his name going strong in memory of him, and sending two kids to Ireland to learn what Billy was so passionate about,” he says.
The scholarship is open to high school seniors who either attend school in Mercer County or who have a parent or grandparent who is involved in a local Irish-American organization such as the AOH. Applicants are asked to submit essays with the theme, “My Irish Heritage and What it Means to Me.”
A panel of judges selects two winners from all applicants to receive a three-week trip to Coláiste Bhun An Inbhir, an Irish Cultural College in County Donegal. Winners stay with a host family and are exposed to the language, culture and sports of Ireland. This year’s winners, Christopher Whalen of Hamilton and Matthew Guhl-Erdie of Lawrence, are set to depart for Ireland on July 15, returning home on Aug. 7.
McFadden and Tracey became co-chairs of the program in 2020. As the first recipients of the scholarship, McFadden and Tracey are able to share firsthand experience with each year’s winners.
“We know the environment, we’ve been on the trip,” Tracey says. “Doing this for 13 years, we’ve grown a great relationship with the school. They look forward to having the Americans there every year.”
McFadden says kids who go on the trip often come back with a newfound sense of independence, having made lifelong friends in the process. “Me and Lauren, when we go back to Ireland, we meet up with the kids we met on the trip,” she says. “In fact, we were recently both just bridesmaids at one of their weddings.”
The Three-Pint Challenge is by no means the only fundraising effort for the Billy Briggs Memorial Scholarship. AOH Division 10 hosts an annual golf tournament that supports the scholarship as well as local nonprofit organization City of Angels. The Hibernians and Tír na nOg also host guest bartender nights and raffles to raise money.
Dennis Griffin is among the 10 who are training to run in the Three-Pint Challenge. Griffin, a Pennington resident, has also set up a GoFundMe page for fundraising for the event.
Griffin was a regular at Tír na nOg and a friend of Billy Briggs. Briggs was godfather to Griffin’s daughter, Rosemarie, and Rosemarie was among the first recipients of the scholarship.
“Being teenagers, it’s a good time to meet up with people from another culture,” Griffin says. “My daughter met some lifelong friends there.”
Griffin and his wife, Caroline, have another daughter, Alanna, a musician who performs regularly at Tír na nOg and who regularly takes part in Irish music competitions in Ireland.
A cybersecurity engineer and Steinert grad, Griffin seems a little trepidatious about the commitment to down pints at each stop on the run.
“I told people I would, so I think I have to,” he says. “The first one is going to be the hard one I think, and the second one will probably be easy because I’ll be thirsty. The third, fourth and fifth ones at Tír na nOg will definitely go down easy.”
Faulkner says he and Eric Nutt, another Tír na nOg regular, first had the idea to do a fundraising run a few years ago. This year, they finally turned those plans into reality, recruiting eight other people to do the run with them.
“I reached out to people I thought would be interested, that I know enjoy running and that support the pub and would support the scholarship,” he says. “There are a couple people too that I wouldn’t classify as runners, but they’re sacrificing and doing it with us.”
The Three-Pint Challenge is not open to further participants. The route from The Blend to Tír na nOg would be difficult, if not impossible, to close down for an organized event, so the runners will be out on the road with just the other nine for company. Those interested in supporting the runners or the scholarship are welcome to join them at Tír na nOg in the afternoon, after they conclude their five-mile journey.
“My hopes are we do it as an annual thing and each year we do it better. That way it takes pressure off the committee to raise funds every year,” Faulkner says. “If we can help them by raising money, thats one less task they have to do, and the Tír na nOg is all about helping out. Being a Div 10 Hibernian, I love to support this, and it’s a great idea that our division came up with.”
More information about the Billy Briggs Memorial Scholarship is on Facebook.