St. Gerald was an Englishman, and a native of Northumbria.
When the Council of Whitby, which prohibited the Celtic observance of Easter throughout Northumbria, St. Colman left for Ireland together with all the Irish monks and some thirty English novices.
Eventually, two monastic communities were established: one for the Irish on the island of Inishbofinoff the cost of Mayo and the second for the English on the mainland of Mayo.
St. Gerald became the abbot of the Mayo monastery and under his guidance it became a center of learning and holiness.
Many miracles were attibuted to him and the beloved abbot of May was recognized as a saint not only by his own family of monks but by the Irish people as well.
He died in 732. His Feast Day is March 13.