The funeral of Max Wall, one of two former Dublin secondary school students who died separately within hours of each other on the Greek island of Ios last week, has heard that he was speaking on the phone to his father when he died.
Max and fellow student Andrew O’Donnell had completed their Leaving Certificate exams and were on holiday with a large group of school friends from St. Michael’s College in Ballsbridge when they both tragically died.
Fr. Paddy Moran told mourners at the Church of the Sacred Heart in Donnybrook: “Max was walking to the ferry when he died. He was talking to Niall, his father, who told me yesterday that Max sounded strong on the phone.
“One second Max was living, and the next he was not. It was as quick as that. Max did not suffer. He was not afraid. He died listening to the voice of the father who loved him. There is consolation in that,” he said.
The priest appealed to the young people who had travelled with Max and Andrew to not “leave the best part of yourself back on Ios."
Max's father Niall told mourners: “Today marks the end of an eight-day journey for us, that with the most profound cruelty has not only taken Max from us but has robbed him of a bright future, and the sense of loss that we feel is so deep because of what he has lost.”
Niall also spoke about Max undergoing surgery three years ago to replace a heart valve and then soon after to remove his spleen.
“We were very, very lucky that he survived all of that,” he added.
Max died on July 2, just 24 hours after the death of Andrew O’Donnell, who died after an accidental fall on rocks. Andrew’s funeral will take place at the same church on Wednesday.
Max was buried in Kilternan Cemetery Park in County Dublin.
