[citation needed] His father Paddy Coleman was the local Ford main dealer and owned a motor garage in Millstreet.

[citation needed] Coleman studied commerce at University College Cork, but preferred farming as his occupation, and undertook it full time after finishing up his racing career.

Irish-American billionaire, philanthropist, life-long motorsports supporter John Campion attributed much of his motivation to succeed to Billy Coleman's achievements as a rally driver.

[citation needed] Campion supported the launch of the Team Ireland Foundation in Dublin in 2016, where in his speech he said:As a young boy in Cork I found myself struggling with school and at a loss as to what I would do with my life.

But I always felt a bond with motorsport after witnessing Billy Coleman, a farmer who became a world rallying icon, competing near my home in Cork.