'They were going out to change the world': Students gather to mourn Andrew and Max after holiday tragedy
Messages and floral tributes left at the entrance to St Michael's College, Dublin 4, to former students Andrew O'Donnell and Max Wall, both 18, who died on the Greek Island of Ios last weekend. Picture: Conor Ó Mearáin /Collins Dublin
When the St Michael’s College class of 2023 stood together in their school chapel for their end-of-year Mass just six weeks ago, the possibilities for the future must have seemed almost endless.
It was their moment to shine, as a little more than 100 boys gathered in front of their proud families and carers, having completed their Leaving Cert exams.
All the hard work, as well as determination and endurance through remote studying during covid, had brought them to this point.
The world was their oyster. They were ready to face the future and grab every opportunity in front of them.
Tragedy must have seemed a million miles away.
“We clapped each other on the back,” said principal Tim Kelleher at a prayer service in the south Dublin college this week, “and congratulated ourselves on the great job we did".
“During covid, they helped support and carry each other through one of the most difficult years that this State has endured.
“They were going to go out to change the world. I remember we all said what a fantastic group of lads these are”.
However, nobody could foresee the life-changing burden they would have to shoulder over the past week.
On Friday night, the boys returned to the same room where they graduated, for an unexpected private Mass after a series of tragic events.
“There’s been a serious dent made in that group,” said Mr Kelleher on Wednesday.
That terrible dent was the result of a double tragedy which unfolded last weekend, when 90 of the sixth-year students who had travelled to the tiny Greek island of Ios lost two of their classmates.
The distressing events began on Saturday, July 1, when one of the boys, Andrew O’Donnell, 18, went missing during a night out on the island.
A major search operation took place, and on Sunday at around 1pm, the remains of Andrew were found near a cliff.
The students, who were supposed to be enjoying a holiday together, a rite of passage after completing their secondary school years, were plunged into complete shock and despair.
Their principal described how they frantically rang home to tell their parents and teachers about what had happened to their classmate.
Nobody could comprehend that level of distress unless they were there, nearly 100 students crying down the phone to their parents — unable to catch a breath.
Mr Kelleher tried to capture their suffering as well as their strength in several prayer services this week.
“They were in a very dark place," he said. "In the most disorganised place in the world, and who does what? One of our boys put his hand up and said: 'I’ll make that call. I don’t want a stranger calling Bebhinn [Andrew’s mother] to let her know what’s happened.'
“That’s power, that’s strength, and that’s leadership; that, in the midst of all of that chaos, one of our lads said: 'I’m making the call', it’s a call he will never ever in his life forget.
But as Andrew O’Donnell’s devastated father Gavin prepared to fly out to be with his son, another tragedy occurred.
Around an hour after Andrew’s body was found, his friend Max Wall, also 18, who had been out looking for him, fell ill near the port on the island.
He was rushed to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Mr Kelleher described how Max had gone to a local Irish restaurant and asked the manager Gary to help “print out photos” of his friend Andrew who was missing.
Another call had to be made home to his heartbroken parents Niall and Fiona Wall while the sixth years were still trying to come to terms with the death of Andrew.
The news of the loss of these two “popular” young men began to filter out on the airwaves.
Tributes poured in for Andrew and Max from “all four corners of the world”, said Mr Kelleher.
Max was described as a “fantastic rugby player” while Andrew was “super at football”.
Mr Kelleher told the : “Andrew was a lovely boy; he was very bright and academic. He really had a wonderful future ahead of him, he was great at football and very outgoing.
“Max too, he was more of a rugby player — very, very disciplined and very bright, also very academic. They were a close group of boys.”
That phonecall is one that no parent ever wants to receive.
“They got that call that all isn’t right,” he said.
The planned trip to Greece by the sixth years at St Michael's College was one that many of the students had enjoyed in previous years.
The island of Ios in the Aegean Sea has a population of around 2,000 people, including Irish citizens.
This week we heard of an Irishman called Mike who runs a bar in Ios, who provided “shelter” for the students as they waited to return home.
“Nobody seems to know his surname,” said principal Kelleher this week, “but he has left an indelible mark on our school.
“There was another man called Gary, he’s got a restaurant, and he said Max came into his restaurant looking to print some photographs of Andrew.
“He went on to say: ‘The young men of St Michael’s college here in Ios were some of the strongest, most respectful, and brave young men I have ever met'.”
Mr Kelleher, who has been in regular contact with the O’Donnell and Wall families, spoke about the arrival of Andrew’s mother Bebhinn to the island on Monday night.
He described how, when she arrived, she “threw her arms around all the boys out there who are absolutely traumatised, who are absolutely exhausted".
"They had been searching, they hadn’t been sleeping," he said. "They had been on an emotional rollercoaster for the loss of their friends. Bebhinn went out and consoled them.
He also described how that night, the students who were still on the island dressed up and sat with Bebhinn, Gavin, Niall, and Fiona to comfort them, and share their memories of Andrew and Max.
Parents of the other boys, as well as members of the school parents council, also travelled to Greece to support them.
Some returned home on Monday night “traumatised”, said Mr Kelleher.
He told a prayer service on Tuesday: “We can see it today, we have been around, listened to their stories, and they are harrowing, and we are so so sorry for the suffering of both families.
“But we are also a little bit proud, I have to say, for the tenacity, the togetherness, and the pride that these boys have shown when trying to find Andrew, and the sympathy and empathy they showed Max.”
That bravery continued on Tuesday morning, when 60 students stood in solidarity as the remains of Andrew and Max were removed to Athens by ferry.
Remarkably, 1,000 students from other Irish schools, who were also on the island, lined the pier in a silent vigil as a mark of respect.
Mr Kelleher told the : “They all know each other, they are a tight-knit community, they play against each other in matches, they socialise together.
He described how as the hearses boarded the ferry; those 60 St Michael’s boys placed 60 yellow roses by their coffins.
The bodies of Andrew and Max were accompanied by their parents to a hospital in Athens, where autopsies got under way.
That evening at Mass, Mr Kelleher said: “They’ve been on the saddest boat trip that any parent could ever take, and they’ve been on the saddest journey that a family can ever take, and we can only imagine it.
“As parents and as members of this community, I don’t think we can possibly understand or possibly comprehend the day that you have just had and the journey that you have made and the last two days that you have suffered through.”
Preliminary findings indicate that Andrew died from a fall while Max's death was attributed to cardiac problems. The full toxicology and autopsy results are not expected to be ready for at least a week.
Police in Greece told the : “We inform you that the police station of Ios is conducting an investigation into the death of the two Irish nationals.
“At this stage of the preliminary investigation, we are not allowed to publicise details of the investigation.
“The results of the forensic examination are awaited.”
Gardaí confirmed that two members of the force travelled to Greece to assist with the investigation.
It is understood that the remains of Andrew and Max were released back to their families on Wednesday night.
The Department of Foreign Affairs told the that it is “providing consular assistance in the case mentioned, and as with all consular cases, the department does not comment on the details of individual cases”.
When an Irish person dies abroad, the Consular Service can plan with An Garda Síochána to have the next of kin in Ireland informed.
The funerals of Andrew and Max will take place next week, with Max being buried on Monday, and Andrew on Wednesday.
In a poignant funeral notice, the Wall family stated: “The world has lost a little colour” and that they were suffering “unimaginable grief”.
The O’Donnell family described how Andrew’s unexpected passing had left behind “a void that can never be filled”.
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