Derek Burke came to prominence as part of the band Crystal Swing, along with his mum Mary and sister Dervla. Now he has his own band called The Derek Burke Band that is in huge demand for weddings, events and gigs.
Derek got married to Claire in 2018, and they have two children. Ollie (6) and Robyn (4).
He lives right beside his parents in a small village near Midleton. While he works a lot over the weekends, he shares with us what he does when he has free time at weekends.
Friday
I mostly work on Friday nights but if I was off, the last place you probably would see me is back inside in the pub. We’d probably go for a meal as a family on a Friday night. We love to go to Ferrit & Lee in Midleton as we know the owner there, and it’s a great place to go. It’s family-friendly but we wouldn’t go too late if we were going there with the kids because it’s more fine dining in the evening.
Everybody has their own thing that they enjoy and the biggest one for me would be chippers. I love going to takeaways, and my favourite is Bunsen in Cork.
Saturday
Claire is a manager in The Grumpy Bakers in Midleton and she usually works on a Saturday, so I would be at home with the kids. Sometimes they have swimming lessons in the morning in District Health & Leisure in Silversprings. If it’s a dry day, myself and the kids would usually go for a drive, so we might take a spin down to somewhere like Rostellen Farm.
They produce their own milk there that you can buy, and they have a few animals, so you can go in and rub the calves and the kids love that. It’s a very busy little spot. We also like going to Fota and Leahy’s Open Farm and we’ve tried out every playground in East Cork at this stage.
Saturday Evening
I often have weddings on Saturdays but if not, I might put on something for the dinner, but Claire would always have it prepared. It’s not that I can’t cook, as I can, but it’s very basic. She trained as a chef and was in college for years, so she’s brilliant at it.
The Grumpy Bakers is a great place and the food is amazing, and you can actually see the bakers making the bread inside in the back. They try to buy everything in from local producers where possible, so all the herbs, spices and vegetables are sourced locally.
If Claire and I are both working, we are very lucky as both sets of grandparents are great with the kids. We live so close to my parents that the kids are able to go in and out and it’s very handy, especially if we’re caught for time, and one of them has to be collected from school or whatever. All of the grandparents are extremely good to us.
Sunday
If l’m free on Sundays, we’d usually go to one of the shows somewhere in the area, especially in the summertime. I love machinery and tractors so I love the agricultural and machinery shows and festivals, and the bigger ones have fun rides for the kids.
On a Sunday, I’d be making sure I have everything ready for the week ahead. We have lots of gigs and weddings, and the setlists change every time, so I would be getting everything ready for the lads in the band. I spend a lot of time emailing brides, and then I deal with different agencies around bookings and packages they’re putting together. I love it all.
Follow Derek Burke on Instagram on https://www.instagram.com/derekburkemusic/?hl=en
