Tributes after death of former city councillor

TRIBUTES have been paid to a respected former councillor described as a "tireless advocate for the communities he represented".

- DANIEL HOLLAND

Gerry Keating, a former teacher at Newcastle's Royal Grammar School (RGS) and a Liberal Democrat who sat on Newcastle City Council for more than 30 years, died on December 30 at the age of 78.

Newcastle's Liberal Democrats called him a "fine and principled servant of the city and of liberalism, and a man of integrity, insight, and intellect".

Gerry attended St Cuthbert's School and graduated with a degree in history from Downing College, Cambridge, before going on to spend 33 years teaching politics and Latin at RGS.

First elected to the old Tyne and Wear County Council in 1981, he later served as a city councillor for Blakelaw from 1986 to 2012.