Gerald was educated at Saint Josephs College, Dumfries, then trained for the priesthood at Ushaw College, Durham, England.
On 17 July
1954, Gerald became the first man to be ordained a priest in the Church of Saint
Peter in Chains. He would have been ordained in Saint Bride's Chruch in West
Kilbride but it was too small for the expected congregation who enjoyed a reception
afterwards in the Kilmeny Hotel in South Crescent Road, Ardrossan. Gerald was
ordained by Bishop Joseph McGee on behalf of the Bishop of Lancaster for whose
Diocese Gerald was ordained.
Father Muir was appointed
as assistant priest at Saint Bede's Church, Carlisle from 1954 to 1959, Saint
Ignatius' Church, Preston from 1959 to 1964 and Saint Anthony of Padua's Church,
Preston from 1964 to 1966. Father Gerry then served on the missions in Zambia
from 1966 to 1973, returning to the Diocese of Lancaster as Parish Priest of
Saint John's Church,Southworth, Cleveleys from 1973 to 1977, Saint Gregory the
Great's Church, Preston from 1977 to 1990 and the Church of Saint John the Evangelist,
Poulton-le-Fylde until his retirement to St Winefrides, Bispham in 2010.
Father Muir died on 22 September 2015 in Lancaster. His Requiem Mass was celebrated
at Saint Gregory the Great's Church on 1 October and was followed by his interment
in the cemetery of the Church of Saint John the Evangelist.
The first photograph
above was taken after Father Muir's ordination on 17 July 1954 and the other
one in 2004. Other pictures associated with Father Muir are on the Pictures
page.