It’s almost a year since Tadhg J Devery took a leap of faith by developing a live show from his viral country-inspired comedy videos, and the Offaly man still can’t believe he’s making a living out of it.
From bad breakfast rolls to the car salute in the country, picking stones or a builder with no tape, Tadhg and his host of rural characters have milked laughs from familiar scenarios for anyone who has spent time on a farm, building site or in a small town or village.
In doing so, the Ferbane native has struck a chord with over 100,000 people across the various social media platforms from all over Ireland and beyond.
With echoes of D’Unbelievables back in the 1990s, the beauty of his countryside cast is that everyone knows a Noel – the typical farming father – or Breda – his more dramatic and slightly raunchy other half. Then there is Christy, the well-meaning but utterly hapless builder; Seamus, the worst plumber in a generation; and a Garda who couldn’t piece together a jigsaw.
Growing up on a farm does lend itself to funny situations, Tadhg agrees, like his first video that “took off” three years ago featuring a young fella coming in at 6am from a big night out, only to be met by his father, who was determined to get him out fencing.
“I see farmers where I live all the time. The stuff they come out with, like they would be dead serious, but they are so funny, not meaning to be,” he says.
Regular fans will notice each character has a clear look, voice and persona. Noel is often reading the Irish Farmers Journal in the weekly sketches, and Irish Country Living made a funny entry recently, or more particularly, the Getting in Touch personal pages did.
While he’s not sure where the characters came from exactly, the sketches are often inspired by something he sees or hears in the countryside.
“Growing up on a farm definitely helps in some of the videos because I know, wording-wise, what to say and what’s going to land here and what’s very relatable in each situation. Being a carpenter, I know all the building stuff. I’ve been in so many situations that the material [from the building site] is never-ending.
“Maybe people are missing Glenroe or something,” he quips, when asked why the videos and the shows are proving so popular.
“I think they are very relatable characters to country people. Anyone who lives or lived in the country can connect to them. They know a Noel, Breda, the priest,” he explains.
Tadhg J Devery has created a host of rural characters for his 'A Day in the Country' show which has proved a big hit with audiences nationwide. \ Claire Nash
That’s part of the reason he developed A Day in the Country, a live show to bring his beloved characters to life in a madcap interactive experience with games, which has sold out venues countrywide.
“It’s mind-blowing that I’ve turned it into a career. It’s mad,” Tadhg says, laughing. He is chatting to Irish Country Living as he prepares for the last five live shows as part of the current tour, taking in Balor Arts Centre in Donegal on 27 September, Tuar Ard, Moate, Co Westmeath on 3 October, and a trip to the capital to the Laughter Lounge on 30 October.
The final two dates will be the Raheen Woods Hotel, Galway on 8 November and Backstage Theatre, Co Longford on 29 November.
“I feel like it’s been years, but I
only started it [the live show] on
November 2 last year, in the Bridge House Hotel in Tullamore.
“It was terrifying. I had never done anything like it before. I had a sold-out crowd, and I was filling the trousers,” he says, chuckling. “But once I got the first few minutes on stage out of the way and the first laugh, it relaxed me a bit. It was a night I’ll never forget.
“To hear the noise coming back at you was incredible,” he recalls of the audience that night and ever since.
Tadhg J Devery pictured on the family farm in Co Offaly. \ Claire Nash
Acting bug
While Tadhg had appeared in several short films and national TV commercials, touring a live comedy sketch show was never on his bingo card. More comfortable on screen, he didn’t envisage being in front of a packed crowd hoping they would laugh. Luckily, he’s managed to translate his online popularity to a live setting too.
Acting was something he always wanted to do, and while in Australia he trained with Sydney Drama School for two years before returning to Ireland in 2015. He later balanced acting jobs with carpentry work.
However, the COVID-19 pandemic intervened to bring all of his work to a halt. Then he decided to “do something different” and have a go at making comedy sketches online, inspired very much by his love of D’Unbelievables, Fr Ted and Friends.
“I ordered the wigs because I was seeing these videos online, and there was no real effort in them. I was like, Right, I’ll get a couple of hairdos and a few different shirts and make people think that it’s four or five different people [in the sketches] even though it’s just me playing them,” explains Tadhg.
He started making the videos on the phone, and he still is.
Mind you, he recalls it took him hours and hours to edit the first one.
With people constantly asking where they could see him live, Tadhg, who was approaching 40, decided to make it happen last year. With the help of friends and the unstinting support of his girlfriend Fernanda, he developed a live show over a couple of months.
He agrees that it was a big risk. “If I didn’t try it then, I’d never do it,” Tadhg recalls of the start of A Day in the Country, adding that things couldn’t be going better since.
While the show tour is coming to a close, the Offaly comic hopes this venture is really just a “warm-up for what’s coming next”, and he’s very excited about 2026.
“I’d love to do this for the rest of my life, tour shows, because, as I said, I never thought I’d be doing it, and now that I am, I’m absolutely loving it,” he says.
Rising comedy star Tadhg Devery has built a live theatre show from viral country-inspired videos. \ Claire Nash
Unsurprisingly, when asked, his dream collaboration would be with Pat Shortt, and he’d love to play Vicar Street, the INEC in Killarney and the London Irish Centre.
While Tadhg jokes that he didn’t really know what he was doing for the first show, it has evolved and improved over time.
“It’s very hard to describe the feeling. I just find it mind-blowing that people come out to see these characters that I’ve created for the craic.
And what does his mother, Marie, and father, Tim, make of it all?
“They didn’t know what to think at first, but I think they are coming around to it all now,” he replies, smiling. “They’ve seen the crowds coming out, and they are happy it’s all going well. They’re getting stopped more than I am, when they are out and about.
“My mother has been to six or seven shows, but if Michael English is playing the same night as me, Michael English wins. She is a big fan!”
See @tadhgjdevery on Instagram,
Facebook, TikTok and YouTube.
It’s almost a year since Tadhg J Devery took a leap of faith by developing a live show from his viral country-inspired comedy videos, and the Offaly man still can’t believe he’s making a living out of it.
From bad breakfast rolls to the car salute in the country, picking stones or a builder with no tape, Tadhg and his host of rural characters have milked laughs from familiar scenarios for anyone who has spent time on a farm, building site or in a small town or village.
In doing so, the Ferbane native has struck a chord with over 100,000 people across the various social media platforms from all over Ireland and beyond.
With echoes of D’Unbelievables back in the 1990s, the beauty of his countryside cast is that everyone knows a Noel – the typical farming father – or Breda – his more dramatic and slightly raunchy other half. Then there is Christy, the well-meaning but utterly hapless builder; Seamus, the worst plumber in a generation; and a Garda who couldn’t piece together a jigsaw.
Growing up on a farm does lend itself to funny situations, Tadhg agrees, like his first video that “took off” three years ago featuring a young fella coming in at 6am from a big night out, only to be met by his father, who was determined to get him out fencing.
“I see farmers where I live all the time. The stuff they come out with, like they would be dead serious, but they are so funny, not meaning to be,” he says.
Regular fans will notice each character has a clear look, voice and persona. Noel is often reading the Irish Farmers Journal in the weekly sketches, and Irish Country Living made a funny entry recently, or more particularly, the Getting in Touch personal pages did.
While he’s not sure where the characters came from exactly, the sketches are often inspired by something he sees or hears in the countryside.
“Growing up on a farm definitely helps in some of the videos because I know, wording-wise, what to say and what’s going to land here and what’s very relatable in each situation. Being a carpenter, I know all the building stuff. I’ve been in so many situations that the material [from the building site] is never-ending.
“Maybe people are missing Glenroe or something,” he quips, when asked why the videos and the shows are proving so popular.
“I think they are very relatable characters to country people. Anyone who lives or lived in the country can connect to them. They know a Noel, Breda, the priest,” he explains.
Tadhg J Devery has created a host of rural characters for his 'A Day in the Country' show which has proved a big hit with audiences nationwide. \ Claire Nash
That’s part of the reason he developed A Day in the Country, a live show to bring his beloved characters to life in a madcap interactive experience with games, which has sold out venues countrywide.
“It’s mind-blowing that I’ve turned it into a career. It’s mad,” Tadhg says, laughing. He is chatting to Irish Country Living as he prepares for the last five live shows as part of the current tour, taking in Balor Arts Centre in Donegal on 27 September, Tuar Ard, Moate, Co Westmeath on 3 October, and a trip to the capital to the Laughter Lounge on 30 October.
The final two dates will be the Raheen Woods Hotel, Galway on 8 November and Backstage Theatre, Co Longford on 29 November.
“I feel like it’s been years, but I
only started it [the live show] on
November 2 last year, in the Bridge House Hotel in Tullamore.
“It was terrifying. I had never done anything like it before. I had a sold-out crowd, and I was filling the trousers,” he says, chuckling. “But once I got the first few minutes on stage out of the way and the first laugh, it relaxed me a bit. It was a night I’ll never forget.
“To hear the noise coming back at you was incredible,” he recalls of the audience that night and ever since.
Tadhg J Devery pictured on the family farm in Co Offaly. \ Claire Nash
Acting bug
While Tadhg had appeared in several short films and national TV commercials, touring a live comedy sketch show was never on his bingo card. More comfortable on screen, he didn’t envisage being in front of a packed crowd hoping they would laugh. Luckily, he’s managed to translate his online popularity to a live setting too.
Acting was something he always wanted to do, and while in Australia he trained with Sydney Drama School for two years before returning to Ireland in 2015. He later balanced acting jobs with carpentry work.
However, the COVID-19 pandemic intervened to bring all of his work to a halt. Then he decided to “do something different” and have a go at making comedy sketches online, inspired very much by his love of D’Unbelievables, Fr Ted and Friends.
“I ordered the wigs because I was seeing these videos online, and there was no real effort in them. I was like, Right, I’ll get a couple of hairdos and a few different shirts and make people think that it’s four or five different people [in the sketches] even though it’s just me playing them,” explains Tadhg.
He started making the videos on the phone, and he still is.
Mind you, he recalls it took him hours and hours to edit the first one.
With people constantly asking where they could see him live, Tadhg, who was approaching 40, decided to make it happen last year. With the help of friends and the unstinting support of his girlfriend Fernanda, he developed a live show over a couple of months.
He agrees that it was a big risk. “If I didn’t try it then, I’d never do it,” Tadhg recalls of the start of A Day in the Country, adding that things couldn’t be going better since.
While the show tour is coming to a close, the Offaly comic hopes this venture is really just a “warm-up for what’s coming next”, and he’s very excited about 2026.
“I’d love to do this for the rest of my life, tour shows, because, as I said, I never thought I’d be doing it, and now that I am, I’m absolutely loving it,” he says.
Rising comedy star Tadhg Devery has built a live theatre show from viral country-inspired videos. \ Claire Nash
Unsurprisingly, when asked, his dream collaboration would be with Pat Shortt, and he’d love to play Vicar Street, the INEC in Killarney and the London Irish Centre.
While Tadhg jokes that he didn’t really know what he was doing for the first show, it has evolved and improved over time.
“It’s very hard to describe the feeling. I just find it mind-blowing that people come out to see these characters that I’ve created for the craic.
And what does his mother, Marie, and father, Tim, make of it all?
“They didn’t know what to think at first, but I think they are coming around to it all now,” he replies, smiling. “They’ve seen the crowds coming out, and they are happy it’s all going well. They’re getting stopped more than I am, when they are out and about.
“My mother has been to six or seven shows, but if Michael English is playing the same night as me, Michael English wins. She is a big fan!”
See @tadhgjdevery on Instagram,
Facebook, TikTok and YouTube.
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