As I sit down in John Burke’s kitchen in his house on the outskirts of Waterford City I’m already thinking illustrator Kathi “Fatti” Burke and her dad are a very special father-daughter duo.
There’s a gentleness to them, and in how they speak to and about each other. That connection trickles into the now 17 books for children they’ve created — illustrated by Kathi and researched and written by John.
It wasn’t always the plan to work together. Their partnership “just kind of came up organically” explains Kathi, who had come up with the idea of a book about Ireland and its 32 counties — Irelandopedia. The book needed a researcher. Kathi suggested her dad, and the rest, as they say, is history.
“[The publisher] met dad and saw his personality and how interesting he is and saw he’d be perfect. I think the books are definitely bigger than they would have been if it was just me and a stranger working on them. Yeah, the work I do with dad is its own special thing,” says Kathi, as she looks affectionately across the table at John.
Kathi talks about John’s “special way of phrasing things and talking to children” borne out of a career teaching in primary school. “Even after you retired, you’re still a teacher for life.”
But John is quick to point to Kathi’s own skills as an illustrator, which make his words come to life. “But you’re the professional and I admire so much what you learned to do and what you can do. I just loved being asked to get all this information and put it down. It was a joy for me.”
John had retired a few years previously. “[My wife] Janet wanted me to have something to do. She was afraid I’d waste away.”
She’d got him a model ship building kit which he says he started “but I would never have finished it”, that was followed by some jigsaws, until the call from Kathi. “I often wonder where I’d be if it weren’t for you, Kathi. The books have taken over; it’s this book now, and then next year it’s another book.”
“And he’s working on his own book now too,” says Kathi with a smile. She tells me that one of her favourite things about working with her dad is the chance to “show him off”. Having John by her side has also given her a confidence she says she wouldn’t typically have for public events.
“I wouldn’t normally say yes to things like going on a radio show, or whatever. I get a bit shy, whereas Dad doesn’t get shy. We get to do things together now and I feel emboldened and more confident going up to accept an award; getting up on a stage with Dad, it’s just so much more fun.”
The pair have always had a close relationship. As a child Kathi attended the school where John worked. Her sister, Shauna, also went there. The trio spent plenty of time together. “After we’d finish school for the day, we’d often sit in dad’s office waiting while he finished admin tasks. We’d read books that had come in or even play computer games.”
Kathi says her and her sister “were spoiled for quality time with dad”. “I was even looking through my old email address doing a clear out of an old inbox recently. And I could see that I was sending dad emails all the time. We’ve always been closer than even our friends and their fathers.”
Working together is a natural thing, then. And though they don’t work in the same space — John is at home while Kathi works in her studio — they are always in touch, although Kathi says she tends to
keep her illustrations “a surprise” from John until the last minute.
“I love seeing you have a bit of fun with the illustrations too,” says John fondly. “You love doing fun things with the animals faces.”
“I do love a visual pun, that’s true,” agrees Kathi.
John’s affection for his daughters and his easy way of showing it is something he says he experienced with his own father. “I remember as a child I wrote a little story about my dad who was a fisherman and I told the story at class. Afterwards two ladies came over to me and said ‘we heard you talking about your dad. It sounds like you loved him a lot”, and I remember being surprised that they would say that. Of course I loved him and I knew that he loved me.”
With that familial model, he says, it’s the most natural thing in the world to enjoy the close relationship he has with Kathi.
Pat and Faye Shortt
Comedians Pat and Faye Shortt became a comedy duo touring together after covid. The father and daughter never had any concrete plans to work together, says Pat. “It just happened by default.”
But there was never any pressure for Faye to follow in her father’s footsteps. “In a way, I think the lack of pressure meant the partnership just naturally evolved.”
Five years on and the pair’s natural chemistry and banter on stage means they regularly sell out venues as they tour the country. Working together for the past few years has only strengthened their bond.
In saying that, the tight quarters of the touring life meant it would either go one way or the other, laughs Pat. “When you’re touring, you’re in a car, you’re staying over in hotels, you’re backstage in a small dressing room together. You have to be tolerant, whether it’s a family member or not. But I think that side of it has been easier for us.”
“We don’t really take anything too personally, you know. When you’re family, you’re always put in those scenarios where you have to be honest, then you move on,” adds Faye.
As work partners and all that entails – they manage the business, promote and produce the shows – their relationship has taken on a new level, but this is very much an equal partnership.
Pat recalls being impressed by Faye’s work process when they first started working together. “I was surprised, and I don’t know why I was, but Faye’s work process is just brilliant.”
He says that when he started in the business it was as a musician, then a sound engineer, and then working with his long-time comedy partner John Kelly. “It took me a long time to get to certain points with performance, and then I look at Faye on that first week and I was expecting her to be like me, but of course she wasn’t. She’s great at this. Sure, performance is in her DNA and she has no problem performing, and I found that refreshing. It actually enriched my own personal performance and attitude towards getting out in front of people, and encouraged me,” he says proudly.
For Faye, working with her dad meant getting a front row seat to years of industry experience, and she soaked it up. “The main things I’ve learned from dad is work ethic and resilience. Look, it’s not always easy. It’s a hard job to put yourself out there and maybe get knocked down and then put yourself out there again. That resilience and confidence I’ve got from dad. Being around people who are confident, it brings you up as well. I don’t think I learned that from drama school, I learned it from being with dad and being on the road with him.”
Working with his daughter has also given Pat a step up when it comes to social media and content creation. “I come from a very traditional form of filmmakers, and then I look at Faye and she just turns around and records something, there’s no talking about it, they just do it, and it’s wonderful to see. I’m starting to learn to shoot, pick it up and move on and not be precious about what you do.”
The pair say they have always had an open and honest relationship, something that’s proved invaluable in their creative partnership.
“Because it’s the arts, I feel like the honesty has really helped us. The dynamic and relationship that we have, it’s made it very easy for us to work together when we’re writing and creating,” says Faye.
Pat agrees, adding that the honesty in their relationship is necessary when they’re exploring character and writing sketches. “When you’re doing that, you go into every topic, so there must be that level of openness and ability to delve into characters truthfully.”
The Shortts’ working relationship is essentially an extension of their already easy father-daughter bond. “I suppose my parents would be very much like friends as well. Now don’t get me wrong, they will always give advice, but there’s a very open relationship there; I wouldn’t be scared to say anything to my mom or my dad.”
John and Karen Kerrigan
John Kerrigan started his mushroom business in November 1981, Karen had been born the previous year, so in a way she grew up with the business.
“I’ve always been surrounded by the farm and the mushroom business; the landline going all the time, orders coming in, and one of my ‘jobs’ was to write the orders into the diary. I’ve always been immersed in this whole world.”
Before it became official, Karen was already working with her dad in the family business, although there was never any push from her dad to follow him. “I could see from a young age that my dad took pride in making sure the customer was looked after. It’s seven-days-a-week business, so it’s something you must really enjoy and be passionate about, and dad has always shown me that enthusiasm and resilience.”
After a commerce degree in UCD and a “quick stint” in Australia, Karen came home and formally joined the family business.
From the start John says, “[Karen] brought something different with her”. “She had a way with customers. She brought in new ways of marketing. She was up to speed with innovation and brought the farm on in leaps and bounds. I don’t think we would be same today without her.”
“And dad’s a natural leader. People warm to him and want to be around him. He brings out the best in people, and the best in me. So that’s really nice to work with, you know,” says Karen, adding that the pair make a “great team”.
John is clearly proud of his daughter. He tells me about the Going for Growth mentoring group Karen is involved with, and her work with Bord Bia. “She’s really good with people and sometimes you need to step back and admire what people do at times.”
Because the farm is very much a family business and based at the family home, separating the two can be difficult, particularly when John and Karen are equally passionate about the work they do.
“We enjoy spending time together, and sometimes my mom will say ‘no work chat’, and we might sneak over to the corner to have a bit of a chat about [work] because we can’t help ourselves!” laughs Karen.
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