Gerard O’Riordan ‘90

Gerard was born in Belfast, Ireland, the oldest child of Gerry and Betty O’Riordan. He was soon joined by his sister, Ciara, brother, Michael, and sister, Brenda. As a child, Gerard attended St. Gall’s and then St. John the Baptist Primary schools. At St. John the Baptist, he represented his school on the Gaelic football, hurling, soccer, and badminton teams. Before moving to New York, Gerard attended St. Mary’s Christian Brothers Grammar School and represented them on their Gaelic football team.

Growing up in Belfast at that time had its challenges, but his parents’ commitment to the youth in their community would see Gerard attend Willowbank and Clonard youth clubs multiple nights each week with his dad and then traveling together all over County Antrim on the other nights of the week attending and playing Gaelic Football and hurling matches with Michael Davitt’s Gaelic Athletic Club.

The O’Riordan family immigrated to New York, and after a brief time living upstate, moved to Woodside. Gerard enrolled in McClancy in January of his freshman year. He made the varsity soccer team as a sophomore and led the team in assists while adding two goals. During his junior and senior seasons, Gerard led the team in scoring and as a junior was named to the All-League team and as a senior, was named a league All-Star by the Daily News.

Upon graduating from McClancy, Gerard earned a full-tuition academic and a partial athletic scholarship to continue his academic and athletic careers at Providence College where he played Big East soccer for two years. Gerard holds a bachelor’s degree in history from Providence College and a master’s degree in School Building Administration from St. John’s University.

Gerard got hired as a teacher at McClancy two days after graduating from Providence. The following year, he began his career as a soccer coach at the school. He coached the Crusaders soccer team for eleven years, winning seven Brooklyn-Queens Championships, including a streak of six years undefeated in regular season league play, and one city championship.

After spending eight years as Alumni Director, Gerard became Athletic Director of our school in September 2008. During his time as AD, the McClancy athletic program has enjoyed tremendous success winning nineteen CHSAA city and two New York state varsity CHSAA championships.

Gerard has been the Chairperson of the Girls CHSAA soccer league since 2020. He is an active soccer referee with the NYC Soccer Officials Association. Gerard is also a member of the G.W. Hudson Council of the Knights of Columbus.

Gerard and his wife Deirdre love to travel. He is eternally grateful for Deirdre’s love and support. Her patience, encouragement, and sacrifices have allowed Gerard to dedicate himself to our teams, students, and community. They are both looking forward to their son, Patrick, attending McClancy as a member of the class of 2029.