A Tribute to Billy from Adiel Mannion

Billy Dove was literally a brother from another mother. He was trustworthy, kind, funny without meaning to be & the most caring friend I’ve ever had-still to this day! I have so many amazing memories that I will never forget & for that I’m very grateful. Billy was never the biggest for our age, which was an insecurity he had, so if we were ever out late I’d always walk him home even if it meant walking past my house to get him home safely. I knew it meant a lot to him & knew he would always be grateful, it wasn’t something he’d let on to many people that he felt this way for obvious reasons! 

At the age of 16 we left school and went to college, little did we know we’d hate college just as much as we did school! We had good intentions of job hunting but any attempt would always end up with us mucking about together, playing the PlayStation, down the Astro playing football or riding our bikes all over hemel. Growing up into adulthood really wasn’t for us.. but when we hit 18 we needed jobs to pay to go out clubbing so we didn’t have much choice than to get ourselves into gear! From what I remember, we were out every weekend without fail, we absolutely loved it. I had my fair share of disagreements on a night out but not once did Billy have any trouble and for me that just shows the kind of guy he was. 

On November the 6th at around 1:30am, I received a phone call which woke me up but I didn’t get to the phone in time. Shortly after that, I received a text saying Billy had been stabbed. I remember thinking it was a sick wind up & didn’t think anything of it until I received a second phone call from another person saying the exact same news that I so desperately didn’t want to believe. After processing the news, I still naively believed that Billy would pull through, so much so that I continuously called his phone thinking he’d pick up. It was then that I came to terms that it was serious, I remember pacing up and down my room calling everyone and anyone that I thought could be with him or know anything about the situation. Shortly after, I received the dreaded phone call confirming that Billy had died due to one stab wound to his chest. The night is a blur, but I remember collapsing to the floor crying, thinking of his poor family and what they was about to go through mentally. My mum came into my room and asked me what was wrong, I told her the news and she screamed his name whilst crying.

From that day on my life has never been the same and that goes for anyone that knew him. He was taken away at such a young age which has left us with so many unanswered questions- how he’d look, how he’d have his hair, how many kids he’d have, if he was married, where he’d live, the list goes on. Billy had a Mum & Dad, sisters, young nieces & nephews that have had to grow up with a massive void in their lives- all for what? The hardest bit to swallow is the fact that Billy’s death was over absolutely nothing. It’s not cool to carry a knife, it’s not cool to use a knife, it’s not cool to take a life.