Northside grieves one of its own
Cork's northside has been stunned by the death of 17 year old Alex McKee, who died while on holiday in Greece last week.
Alex McKee, a student of Terence McSwiney Community College in Hollyhill where he was due to begin his Leaving Certificate this year, was electrocuted by an outdoor showerhead.
An autopsy confirmed the cause of death as electrocution.
Initial investigations by Greek police have focused on the house’s water heater and possible faulty wiring in the house.
“It is thought that the fusebox may not have had a safety valve,” said a spokesperson for the Greek police.
McKee’s mother Iphegenia is a native of Greece, and he and his family had been visiting the island to see relatives. They had been there for three days when the incident occurred.
A doctor on the island, Agapitos Xanthis, said that it was lucky there were not two deaths as a result of the electrocution, in an interview with Greek TV.
He said that McKee’s mother had described a similar surge when she called him for help with her son. He told her to turn off the mains “immediately”.
Terence McSwiney Community College described McKee as a “much loved member of our school and community”.
The Department of Foreign Affairs has said that it is aware of the incident and that it is providing consular assistance, but that it cannot comment on individual cases.
His family may be pressing charges against the island’s mayor, who signed off on the house’s wiring while working as an electrician, as per reporting in the Guardian.
“The current mayor faces huge criminal responsibility,” said Stelios Voudouris, the McKee family’s lawyer, to Greek news channel Open TV.
A promising young scientist, Alex won the Ombudsman for Children’s Office Children’s Rights Award at the 2026 Stripe Young Scientist and Technology Exhibit earlier this year, for their project Bumblebee.
Along with two of his fellow students, Alex helped create a communication tool designed to support non-verbal children and adults living with dementia last year.