Early Life
Collins was born in Abbeyfeale, County Limerick in 1938. The son of James Collins, his father was a former adjutant of the West Limerick Brigade of the Irish Republican Army during the Irish War of Independence and took the republican side during the subsequent Civil War. He was elected to Dáil Éireann at the 1948 general election as a Fianna Fáil candidate.
Collins was educated locally at St. Ita's College before later attending the Patrician College, Ballyfin. Following the completion of his secondary schooling he attended University College Dublin where he became secretary of the Kevin Barry Cumann of Fianna Fáil. He subsequently worked as a vocational school teacher.
Read more about this topic: Gerry Collins (politician)
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