Eighteen-year-old Max Wall, a sixth-year student at St Michael’s College, Ballsbridge in Dublin who has died in the Greek island of Ios, had the “world at his feet” and was “gifted academically”, his secondary school principal, Tim Kelleher, has said.
Mr Wall was also a big rugby supporter “steeped in the rugby tradition of Leinster rugby and St Michael’s rugby”, said Mr Kelleher.
The young man lived in south Dublin and had travelled to the island with his schoolfriend Andrew O’Donnell and other students to mark the end of their Leaving Cert exams. His older brother Charlie is a past pupil of the college.
“[They were] really bright, really smart guys. They do very well in their exams, sporting, full of life, just full of life. Just looking forward to the years ahead,” Mr Kelleher said.
Max, who been in the junior school before progressing to the senior school, had a “sunny, friendly disposition” and “it was always a pleasure to meet him on the corridors”, Lorna Heslin, principal of the junior school, said. She extended “deepest sympathy” to his parents and older brother Charlie.”
The young man was found unconscious near the island’s port at about 2pm on Sunday and he is understood to have died from natural causes.
[ Gardaí deployed to Greek island to help investigations into Irish teens’ deathsOpens in new window ]
“Max was a constant source of positivity, encouragement and fun for all of those around him. He was extremely popular with staff and students alike, and a fantastic supporter of our teams during the various cup campaigns,” a St Michael’s statement said.
Ireland U20s head coach Richie Murphy extended the sympathies of the entire squad to the friends and families of Mr O’Donnell and Mr Wall.
Mr Murphy said: “They are in the thoughts and prayers of everyone in Irish Rugby at this incredibly sad time. We were shocked and saddened to hear of the tragic news in Greece.”
Minister of State at the Department of Education, Josepha Madigan, whose son is in Ios, tweeted on Monday that she had met Max Wall at a Leinster match, saying that he was “such an impressive young man.”
Gary Ruddock, a co-owner of the Life Is A Beach Party travel company that had booked various aspects of the holiday for hundreds of Leaving Cert students this year said he had met Max Wall before his death, who, along with friends had been attempting to print off information on the then-missing Andrew O’Donnell.
“From the brief, brief encounter I had with him, a lovely guy,” he said, expressing the company’s sympathies with the family and those affected by the double tragedy. He also praised the collective response of the St Michael’s group on the island.
