The Great Irish Bake Off (series 3)

Series 3 of The Great Irish Bake Off aired on TV3 in Ireland and saw twelve home bakers take part in a bake-off to test every aspect of their baking skills as they battled to be crowned The Great Irish Bake Off's best amateur baker. Each week saw keen bakers put through two challenges in a particular discipline. The series aired from 25 October 2015 till 13 December 2015. This season was presented by Anna Nolan and judged by Paul Kelly and Lilly Higgins.[1]

The Great Irish Bake Off
Series 3
Presented by	Anna Nolan
Judges	Lilly Higgins Paul Kelly
Country of origin	Ireland
No. of episodes	8
Release
Original network	TV3
Original release	25 October – 13 December 2015
Series chronology

The Bakers

Baker	Age	Occupation	Hometown
Ailish Carrigan	41	Accountant	Laois
Cathy McKenna	27	Former Restaurant Manager	Monaghan
Clare Ryan	32	Primary School Teacher	Limerick
Damien Carter	31	Teacher	Laois
Darina Coffey	27	PhD Student	County Kerry
Emer Hough	32	Finantial Advisor	Limerick
Fíonnadh McGonigle	31	Stay at Home Mother	Monaghan
James Gavin	23	Student	Kildare
Nathasha Dawson	17	Student	County Donegal
Neil Reid	36	Sales and Marketing Executive	Dublin
Sandra McGarry	44	IT Tutor	County Meath
Sandra O'Reilly	51	Playschool Teacher	Dublin

Results Summary

Elimination chart
Baker	1	2^[a]	3	4	5	6	7	8
Cathy					SB			WINNER
Clare		SB		SB			SB	Runner-Up
Emer						SB		Runner-Up
Fíonnadh	SB						OUT
James							OUT
Neil						OUT
Sandra O.			SB		OUT
Damien				OUT
Darina				OUT
Nathasha			OUT
Ailish		WD
Sandra M.	OUT

^[a] Ailish left the show in episode 2 due to illness.[2]

Colour key:

Got through to the next round

Awarded Star Baker

The baker was eliminated

Baker withdrew from the show

Series Runner-up

Series Winner

Episodes

Baker eliminated

Baker withdrew from the competition

Star Baker

Winner

Episode 1: Desserts

Baker	Signature (Memorable Moments Desert)	Technical (Mango and Passionfruit Cheesecake)
Ailish	Red Velvet Sponge with Cardomon Cheesecake & Swiss Meringue	8th
Cathy	Monaghan Rose & Peach Curd Tart with Pistachio Caramel Crunch	1st
Clare	Raspberry, Lemon & Coconut Layered Cake with Chocolate Drool	7th
Damien	Stranofficomb Pie	9th
Darina	Dark Chocolate Pavlova Tower with Framboise Ganache, Berries & Pistachio Praline	12th
Emer	Neopolitan & Almond flavoured Sandcastle with Swiss Meringue & Cupcakes 99s	5th
Fíonnadh	Pumpkin Croquembouche	2nd
James	Courtesan Au Chocolat with Neapolitan Crème Patissière	6th
Nathasha	Chocolate Orange & Hazelnut Tart	3rd
Neil	Dark Chocolate & Raspberry Pie	10th
Sandra M.	Blackberry & White Chocolate Trifle Cake	11th
Sandra O.	Apple Spice Blondie Cheesecake	4th

Episode 2: Cakes

Baker	Technical (Adults Only Coffee Cake)	Showstopper (Halloween Cake)
Ailish	N/A	N/A
Cathy	2nd	Samhain Apple Bonfire Cake with Druids Buttercream and Pomegranate Drizzle
Clare	1st	Little Monster
Damien	10th	Black Church Cake
Darina	8th	Chocolate Guinness Spider Cake
Emer	9th	Bones & Tombstones
Fíonnadh	4th	Skeleton Arm Surprise
James	7th	Toffee Apple Cake
Nathasha	5th	Trick or Treat Cake
Neil	6th	Phantom of the Opera Coffin Cake
Sandra O.	3rd	Till Death Do Us Part

NOTE: Ailish felt ill during the Technical and didn't finish the challenge. Before the Showstopper, Anna announced that she would not be continuing in the competition. No one was eliminated after the Showstopper.

Episode 3: Bread

Baker	Signature (Stuffed Savoury Picnic Loaf)	Technical (Stollen Bread)
Cathy	Indian Tiger Bfread	1st
Clare	Braided Italian Picnic Loaf	10th
Damien	Popeye's Bread	9th
Darina	A Rare Affair	3rd
Emer	Market Burger Loaf	7th
Fíonnadh	Roasted Veggie Garlic and Herb Bread	8th
James	Al Fresco Anti Pasti Filled Picnic Load	4th
Nathasha	Italian Tortano Style Stuffed Picnic Loaf with Basil and Pine Nut Pesto	6th
Neil	Breakfast Loaf	5th
Sandra O.	Breakfast Loaf	2nd

Episode 4: Chocolate

Baker	Technical (Triple Chocolate Swiss Roll)	Showstopper (Chocolate Selection Box)
Cathy	8th	Superfood Selection Box
Clare	1st	Chocolate Truffle Box
Damien	9th	Chocolate Chipper Box
Darina	5th	Christmas in Killarney Box
Emer	2nd	Boozy Party Box
Fíonnadh	4th	Family Favourites Box
James	6th	Favourites Box
Neil	3rd	Irish Tastes & Inspirations
Sandra O.	7th	Parent and Child Box

Episode 5: International Week

Baker	Signature (World Inspired Bake)	Technical (Pineapple Upside-Down Cake)
Cathy	Italian Favourites Cake	3rd
Clare	French Fancies	6th
Emer	American Pecan Pie Cake	2nd
Fíonnadh	Cardamom, Rosewater & Chia Cake	1st
James	Dobos Torte	4th
Neil	Black Forest Gateaux	5th
Sandra O.	Esterházy Torte	7th

Episode 6: Party Week

Baker	Technical (Irish Pizzas & Calzones)	Showstopper (Mad Hatter's Tea Party)
Cathy	1st	Mad Hatter's Tea Party
Clare	4th	Mad Hatter's Tea Party
Emer	3rd	Mad Hatter's Tea Party
Fíonnadh	2nd	Mad Hatter's Tea Party
James	6th	Mad Hatter's Tea Party
Neil	5th	Mad Hatter's Tea Party

Episode 7: Semi-Final

Baker	Signature (Soufflé)	Technical (St. Honoré cake)
Cathy	Soufflé de Noël	4th
Clare	Raspberry and Amaretto Soufflé	2nd
Emer	Toffee Apple Soufflé	5th
Fíonnadh	Coconut and Lime Soufflé	1st
James	Strawberry and Dark Chocolate Soufflé	3rd

Episode 8: Final

Baker	Technical (Deconstructed Apple Crumble)	Showstopper (Wedding Cake)
Cathy	2nd	Harvest Moon Wedding Cake
Clare	1st	His 'n' Hers Vintage Wedding Cake
Emer	3rd	Love is Precious Wedding Cake

Christmas Special 2015

A special edition of the show for Christmas in which four celebrities bid for the title of Star Baker in the face of a seasonal challenge set by Paul Kelly and Lilly Higgins. It aired on December 20, 2015.

Team	Celebrity	Challenge (Christmas Cookies)
Panto	Leanne Moore	WINNER
	George McMahon	RUNNER-UP
Presenters	Martin King	RUNNER-UP
	Lucy Kennedy	RUNNER-UP

References

1. Campos, Adelina; Healy, Claire (2015-10-19). "Meet this year's Great Irish Bake Off contestants". Irish Mirror. Retrieved 2020-11-16.
2. Campos, Adelina (2015-11-01). "Great Irish Bake Off: Ailish Carrigan escorted by paramedics off show". Irish Mirror. Retrieved 2020-11-16.