As the ferry carrying several groups of Irish teenagers pulled into Ios port on Monday evening, the idyllic Greek island seemed a different destination than the one they had planned as a summer escape during the stress of their Leaving Cert studies.
The view from the ferry looked out on to a sandy beach lined with cocktail bars and restaurants, as the sun set behind the sloping hills of the island.
What should have been giddy excitement from the various bands of 18-year-olds, arriving at the start of their big summer holiday, was dulled by news of the deaths of Andrew O’Donnell and Max Wall, two students from St Michael’s College in Ballsbridge, at the weekend.
It appears Mr O’Donnell, whose remains were discovered on rocky ground on Sunday morning, had suffered a tragic accident on the way home from a night out, with his injuries suggesting he may have fallen. Separately, Mr Wall was found unconscious near the island’s port at about 2pm later the same day.
Aoife Hegarty (18), one of a group of four Irish girls arriving on the evening ferry, said the deaths of the two boys had put life into perspective.
“It’s really tragic, you think of the parents. Everyone I’m coming with is 18 and so am I, the fact that you’re the same age as the boys. We just did our CAO and maybe they did that as well,” she told The Irish Times.
The group, from Coláiste Íosagáin, a secondary school in south Dublin, plans to stay on the island for around a week.
“You always hear stories about these sort of things happening, but there’s always that thing of ‘that’ll never happen to me’,” she said.
“I remember doing the exams, before we’d go in everyone was like, ‘guys, only a few more weeks until we go to Ios’, and that was the only thing keeping everyone going,” she said.
Ms Hegarty, who is hoping to study English, Law and French at the University of Galway, said the tragedy showed how badly things could go wrong on a holiday in a foreign country.
[ Gardaí deployed to Greek island to help investigations into Irish teens’ deathsOpens in new window ]
Another of the group, Jennifer Slevin (18), said the news had left her mother “terrified” about the trip, which they had booked months ago.
“We’re always aware that something bad can happen, but it kind of just really hit hard. Two people died when they thought they were going to have such a fun holiday,” she said.
The group has downloaded an app, Life360, which allows them to see each others’ live phone locations, in case someone gets separated on a night out, she said.
“Now we’re really wary, we can’t drink too much, we can’t leave our drinks anywhere,” she added.
Another Leaving Cert student from Dublin, who was holidaying on Ios this week but did not wish to be named, said the mood following the news of the two deaths was “so sad”.
Earlier in the week there had been a “great atmosphere” in the packed clubs, which has since given way to shock and numbness among other Irish students on the island, he said.
“People aren’t gathering. Everyone is still in shock. It still doesn’t feel real… They had their lives to look forward to,” he said.
This article was updated on July 4th to correct the location of Coláiste Íosagáin
