He lined out with a number of club sides, including Charleville, Lees, Blackrock and Claughaun, and also played at inter-county level with Cork.
Galligan first played hurling at juvenile and underage levels with the Seán Clárachs side that won consecutive North Cork MHC titles in 1952 and 1953.
[3] Galligan first appeared on the inter-county scene as right wing-forward on the Cork junior hurling team that beat Warwickshire in the 1958 All-Ireland final.
[6] Galligan's father, also called Bill, was also a hurler who played with a number of club teams, including Bruree, Croom, Ballyhea and Charleville.
His son, Mike Galligan, played with Claughan and won National League and Munster SHC medals with Limerick.