Gerry was the elder of two brothers from Drumshanbo who attended in the 50's, ahead of Joe, '57. whose own son Joe also attended, class '81. The McManus duo from Keadue, Manus, '55 and Ray,'58 would also have been cousins.

He excelled at Castleknock, especially so academically where he amassed quite a collection of gold medals - intermediate debate 1950, Church History 1952, History 1953 and uniquely Irish Debating in both 1952 and 1953. That haul might suggest his excellence only extended to the Arts, but not a bit of it, for Gerry matriculated to study Chemical Engineering at UCD.