The Fleming family have been taking the internet by storm for the last several years and their latest post – where they ‘shove’ their father in a giant green balloon – might be this year’s funniest video.

The family – Tadhg, Sadhbh, Maryanne and parents Derry and Maureen – shot to fame in 2017 when they shared a side-splitting video of Tadhg and Derry trying to catch a bat that was causing havoc in their home. 

Catching wild animals in their house in Ballymacelligott, County Kerry in the south-west of Ireland proved to be popular as they had another viral video of the father and son team chasing down an elusive mouse.

In their latest viral hit, which has 5.5million views, Tadhg shoves Derry – who still works in the local credit union – into a giant green balloon before he leaps up and down to the music of Jump Around by House of Pain before the balloon inevitably bursts.

The distinct Irish accents and authentic mannerisms in their videos has made them popular with an international audience – as they have 3.1million followers on TikTok and 780,000 on Instagram. 

Tadhg and Maryanne inflate their father Derry into a giant green balloon

Maryanne, Maureen, Tadhg, Derry, and Sadhbh Fleming pose in their kitchen dressed up to the nines 

Tadhg and Derry Fleming after they received an award at the Gossies – an Irish show businesses awards due

Tadhg runs the family’s social media accounts which have clocked up millions of engagements from fans across the globe. 

The family’s exact social media earning are unknown but the Influencer Marketing Hub estimates they make between £3,900 to £5,900 per post on TikTok alone. 

The calculations are based on Tadhg’s whopping 3.1million TikTok followers, the total number of videos and his 88.1million likes. 

Tadhg posted five videos on TikTok in January which means he would have earned between £19,500 and £29,500 in the month if the estimations are correct. 

Tadhg got married to Alannah Bradley in Killarney, which is a tourist hotspot not far from Ballymacelligott, in May last year.

The couple are now expecting their first child some time this year who will be welcomed by their five dogs.

The couple first started living together in a house a ‘stone’s throw’ from the Fleming family home in 2020 but the Flemings were uneasy about the move because they wanted Tadhg to ‘drop the knee’ before they shared the same home. 

Tadhg said: ‘I’m living with my girlfriend now, it’s literally just a stone’s throw away.

‘With the moving in, they wanted me to drop to one knee straight away. Instead I’ve given them grandchildren of dachshunds and boxers.’

Derry added: ‘To be quite honest, we were reluctant to let him go, because we didn’t believe in that.

‘Better off to get married and start a stable life.’

Tadhg and Alannah met after they shared a taxi home after a night out in Tralee about 10 years ago. 

And Derry even told Evoke that Alannah was the one to pay for the taxi home. He teased that his son has been ‘spent the last 10 years trying to pay her back’. 

He said: “I’m living with my girlfriend now, it’s literally just a stone’s throw away.

‘With the moving in, they wanted me to drop to one knee straight away. Instead I’ve given them grandchildren of dachshunds and boxers.’

Derry is quite a religious man and recently had a spiritual awakening on while hiking bare foot up Apparition Mountain in Medjugorje in Bosnia and Herzegovina when Tadhg was just seven years old. 

He told the Irish Independent: ‘The impact it had on me, it changed my whole life…when I came back from, I changed my job, sold my house – I was building a new house at the time – and I bought a different place. 

Tadhg and wife Alannah at Disney World during their honeymoon

The pair then struggle to get the balloon above the waist while keeping the air in

After successfully inflating it the trio dance around the living room to House of Pain’s hit Jump Around

Tadgh’s dad is seen enjoying bouncing around in the balloon to the music

Before the balloon pops and the family fall to their knees in disbelief 

‘When I came back from there, I said ‘if I were to die, now is a good time’ because I never felt so close to God. I can’t explain it.’

On a recent appearance on Irish TV, Derry explained what it is like to have a normal job while also being a viral internet star.

The credit union worker said: ‘I have a proper job. People come in for loans and say, “I saw you with no pants on”.

‘I work in a Credit Union and people always say, “I thought you were so serious”, but, when you are in the Credit Union, you are looking after people. 

‘It’s amazing. People find it easier then, “you are a bit more normal”. We are all human and we all have a funnier side to us as well. 

Tadhg says his father regularly ‘takes over’ the shoots for their viral videos and often is the one to initiate the process as well. 

The process behind the family’s viral videos can vary but it frequently starts with Tadhg telling the family he has a costume and runs from there. 

However, it is not all fun and games as Tadhg explained that their internet fame comes with a ‘dark side’ as trolls attack the family. 

‘It’s awful. I am trying top protect them (the rest of the family). I do take responsibility because I am the one putting up the content. 

‘At the same time, I am telling them not to go into the comments. Stay away from the comments because it is not good for them to see. 

‘I’d come back into the kitchen and it would be spotless because somebody said, “the kitchen is dirty”. 

‘I’d say, “just leave it”. Don’t be looking at the comments. Keep it natural. But you are going to get that.