Bobby Kerr - entrepreneur
What's your earliest holiday memory?My earliest holidays were to Kilkee in west Clare where my father is from. We went there religiously every July from when I was six months old.
I first went abroad on holiday when I was 17 to an apartment in Benalmadena, outside Malaga with my parents. I remember thinking it was the bees knees and it was like nothing I had ever seen. But I also remember getting very badly burned while watching a bull fight.
What was your worst holiday?Just after getting married, Mary and I went to Italy to a place in the old Italian Riviera called Alassio, near Genoa. We ran out of money after two days and had to wire home to get some. We hadn't a bob at the time and were on a shoestring holiday, and got it totally wrong in terms of the money. It was so much more expensive than we thought – we were really stressed out by it. The accommodation was awful and it turned me off going to Italy for years. But I've been back since and it's great.
What was your best holiday?Two holidays with the girls spring to mind – to Disneyland Florida and another to Cape Cod. But I've had great sailing holidays. Every two years I charter a boat with the lads. We've been to Croatia, Turkey, Greece and Majorca. I'm a keen sailor and these are the best holidays. It's a fascinating adventure, you are in a different place every day and the sailing gives you something to do.
If budget or work were not a restriction, what would be your dream holiday?I'd like to sail across the Atlantic. I haven't got around to doing that yet, so hopefully in the next few years. It wouldn't be with my family but with a bunch of lads. And it would be great to have a month off, which I never have.
If you had your pick, who would you bring on holiday with you?My wife, Mary, and four daughters. I'm just back from four days in New York with the five girls – it was all retail therapy. I wouldn't recommend it from a fiscal perspective but we'd a great time!
What's your favourite place in Ireland?I love to go to west Cork for a week every August, places like Schull, Baltimore and Crookhaven. I like the food, drink and culture which is very European and it has a beautiful coastline.
Your recommended holiday reading?I like to read polar exploration books and I'll also read novels, such as those by John Connolly.
Where will you go to next?I like to take a few short breaks but rarely do two weeks. I've no plans but am going to Zambia to build houses with Habitat for Humanity in April. It's not a holiday but I'll have one day to visit Victoria Falls. I go to Africa with business a lot and I like it there.
- Bobby Kerr is chairman of Insomnia coffee company, a dragon on RTÉ's Dragons' Denand presents Down to Businesson Newstalk, Sunday mornings.
- In conversation with GENEVIEVE CARBERY