Born: April 10th, 1980
Died: April 25 2026
Charlie McKean, who died while sailing off the coast of Dublin at the age of 46, was an accomplished solicitor, drummer, cocktail maker, rugby supporter and an old-school swashbuckler.
But above all that, he always viewed his most important role in life as father to his teenage son.
McKean was born in Cambridge in 1980 and moved with his family frequently, to countries including Scotland and Kuwait, always following his father Hamish’s job in airlines. The family ultimately laid down more permanent roots in Dún Laoghaire when Charlie was 10.
He got to Ireland just in time for Italia 90 and while his footballing allegiances always lay with Scotland rather than the country of his birth, he found himself drawn to the chaos, wild celebrations and echoing Olé Olé Olés on the roads and roundabouts of Dublin.
RM Block
The madness of that World Cup was enough to make him fall head over heels in love with Ireland, with that love ultimately leading to him becoming a citizen of his adopted country 35 years later, thanks in no small part to his grandmother who moved to England from her home in east Cork early in the 20th century.
He was always fond of devilment and at 12 he and his older brother Henry travelled from Dublin to a castle in Meath where he managed to blag his way into the frenetic mosh pit at the Guns N’Roses concert in Slane.
Despite his tender years and slight build, he successfully caught one the drummer’s sticks that was thrown into the crowd after fighting off fierce competition from dozens of much larger and more aggressive grabbing hands. Perhaps as a result of his Slane experience, McKean took to the drums soon after that and played in multiple garage bands before hanging up his sticks in favour of a career in the law.
At 14 he borrowed his mother’s Ford Fiesta and despite being barely able to reach the pedals and having nothing by way of driving experience, took it out for a spin. It was an adventure that caused not inconsiderable consternation among the adults in the McKean family when they saw the little hands of their youngest son behind the steering wheel of their suddenly moving car.
To pay for his legal studies he worked as a barman and loved nothing more than making cocktails at home and sometimes even at work. He also loved sailing and brought his passion of cocktail making on board many yachts, including the aptly named White Mischief.
He became something of a legend among the Dún Laoghaire sailing fraternity, many of whom were known to be fond of his multiple concoctions, which he more than once served on board his boats in breach – probably – of multiple rules.
But while McKean loved a good cocktail and occasionally mixed booze and boats, he took his sailing very seriously and was involved in winning regattas in Ireland and Scotland in recent years. He was fiercely committed to helping his crew compete at the highest possible level and was known by the sailing community as “Three Second Charlie” because of his ability to pull up a spinnaker sail at lightning speed.
Despite coming of age in a virtual world, McKean loathed social media, going as far as to describe selfies as “selfish”, and he eschewed the allure of online followers in favour of real-life interactions. “He was old-fashioned viral,” one family member recalled.
Along with his passion for sailing, drumming and cocktail making, he was a big fan of The A-Team, mountain biking, James Bond, the history of the second World War and Commando war comics, as well as hard-rock heroes including AC/DC and Whitesnake.
He travelled widely and loved his time in Hawaii, Mallorca and Greece. He adored Rottweilers and had a particular passion for Häagen-Dazs ice cream.
And then there was his son. His family recalled that they had an incredibly strong bond forged not least because they “got each other’s jokes and each other’s personalities”, as his brother Henry put it.
McKean was educated at Willow Park and Blackrock College, excelling at rugby and English. He studied law at Portobello College, gaining a degree that was issued by the University of Wales. He completed his studies at the Law Society of Ireland on Blackhall Place in Dublin 7 and over two decades defended some of the most vulnerable and poorest people in Irish society, as well as some of the richest and most powerful.
He was proud to hold what he said was an Irish record for the most prison visits in one day, which he put at six. He once attended the scene of a crime in inner-city Dublin with a barrister to get a feel of where the incident occurred, sharing a spice burger with the accused to get a feel for the life they lived and the world in which they operated.
Mason, Hayes and Curran, and LK Shields were among the well-known Dublin law firms where he worked, but in more recent years McKean served as a solicitor in the Chief State Solicitor’s Office, where he specialised in extradition cases.
He was a fierce and passionate supporter of both Ireland and Leinster rugby and after he died the rugby community honoured him by putting his photo and name in lights on the big screen at half time in the Investec Champions Cup semi-final between Leinster and Toulon.
He became ill on the White Mischief in April doing what he loved and despite the best efforts of his fellow crew, the Coast Guard, the RNLI, and the ambulance service he could not be resuscitated.
He is survived by his son, his parents Rosemary and Hamish and his siblings James, George and Henry.
