Working from home: Kevin Corbally

Still just Dad

As you can see, I have commandeered our dining room table as my home desk and sit just in front of our family piano.

Our family has always had a love of music. One of my boys was the Captain of the National Boys Choir of Australia, my brother was the lead singer in a local band in Ireland, both sets of my grandparents were musically oriented and all my children enjoy playing the piano. Unfortunately, I seem to be the only one in our family who missed out on the music genes!

It’s not uncommon for me to have to leave my desk mid-video call to make way for a music lesson for one of my kids. It is a healthy reminder that no matter how important I might think I am at the bank, I am still just Dad in this house. My kids schooling takes precedence over virtually everything else (including a global Risk webcast!).

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Mr Goggles

My daughter made this little character at school a few years ago. She named him Mr Goggles due to his eyes and he is decked out in the colours of my beloved Melbourne Demons AFL club. My daughter suggested he sit on the piano to ensure I remain focused on my work. Apparently Mr Goggles informs her if I get distracted during the day!

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My homeland

This map of Ireland was a present from my wife for our paper (first) wedding anniversary. It was hand-drawn and coloured in Ireland way back in 1860 and is a beautiful steel engraving. It is one of my most treasured possessions and a constant reminder of where I came from, who I am and the role that Ireland and its people - including my parents and family - have played in who I am today.

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Dundalk town square

I grew up in the town of Dundalk in Ireland and this photo was taken in the town square in the 1930s.

It shows some of the Leyland buses that operated between Dundalk and Blackrock (a small seaside village on Ireland’s east coast) - a distance of about 3 miles. My grandfather and another gentleman were instrumental in introducing these buses to Dundalk. If you look closely you can see my grandfather facing the first bus.

This service was an integral part of the lives of the locals and continued to operate even through the Second World War. In fact, it is still operational today. These buses were built to stand the test of time with one of them still on the go (you can see it in The Transport Museum, Howth, Co. Dublin in Ireland).

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Bucket list

I drink lots of water during the day and my glass sits on a coaster depicting Horizontal Falls in the vast Kimberley region of Western Australia. The Falls are a natural phenomenon David Attenborough has described as “one of the greatest wonders of the natural world”.

Covering more than 420,000 square kilometers, first settled by humans somewhere between 40,000 and 65,000 years ago, this ancient region has fewer people per square kilometre than almost any other place on earth. Its remarkable landscapes, spectacular gorges and thundering waterfalls, are a sight to behold and on its coast lie some of the world’s most beautiful beaches, untouched coral atolls and rugged islands with an amazing variety of marine life.

The coaster is a reminder of one of my favourite places to visit in the entire world - the ultimate bucket list destination.

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Kevin Corbally is Chief Risk Officer at ANZ