The Traitors Ireland: Everything you need to know as game enters final phase

The Traitors Ireland has become an overnight success for RTÉ, with Irish audiences lapping up the lies and drama three nights a week.

The reality show sees host Siobhán McSweeney welcoming a group of strangers to Slane Castle to play the ultimate game of detection, backstabbing and trust, in the hope of winning up to €50,000.

The game is now entering its final phase, with only three episodes remaining.

The rest of this article contains spoilers for The Traitors on RTÉ. Read on to find out how the show works and how the drama has unfolded so far at Slane.

How does the game work?

With all of the contestants arriving at the castle as “Faithfuls”, they will soon find out their fate in the game – whether they are playing as a “Faithful” or as a “Traitor". The role of the Faithfuls is to find the Traitors in the group, and banish them all before the end of the game. The aim of the Traitors is to stay undetected and escape banishment.

If the Faithfuls successfully banish all of the Traitors before the end of the game, the remaining Faithfuls are the winners and walk away with the prize money. If, however, there are any Traitors remaining at the end of the game, the remaining Traitor(s) will win and take it all.

In most episodes, the group gathers at the Round Table to discuss who they suspect of being a Traitor and have the opportunity to “banish” a contestant, eliminating them from the game. The contestant who receives the most votes is banished, leaving the castle immediately, but not before revealing to the rest of the group whether they are a Faithful or a Traitor.

Most evenings, the Traitors meet in secret and have the opportunity to choose a Faithful they wish to “murder”, eliminating them from the game. The Traitors together must decide on one contestant they wish to murder and leave the game.

The chosen Faithful will find out they have been murdered when they receive the “death warrant” – a letter from the Traitors – with the rest of the group discovering the identity of the ‘murdered’ contestant at breakfast the next morning.

The total number of Traitors in the game at any time is never revealed to the Faithfuls, but may change through banishment or recruitment. If a Traitor is banished before the end game, the Traitors may have the opportunity to recruit a Faithful to join them as a Traitor and if they agree, they become a Traitor from that moment on, for the remainder of their time in the game.

The Faithful and the Traitors must work together as a group in a series of challenges and tasks known as missions for the chance to earn money towards the prize fund, with a total prize fund of up to €50,000 available to be won.

Who are the contestants?

There are 24 contestants in the very first Irish series of The Traitors – 11 men and 13 women ranging in age from 23 to 68.

They come from a variety of backgrounds and from across Ireland.

So who are the Traitors? And who has been banished or 'murdered' so far?

In episode one, the backstabbing and deceit began even before the contestants entered Slane Castle.

Before going into the castle, Andrew was nominated by the group as the most trustworthy. He was then instructed to eliminate two contestants before the game began. He chose Gemma and John.

It was also revealed to viewers that Paudie and Andrew were father and son. They kept this information secret from the rest of the group.

For their mission, the contestants had 30 minutes to transport whiskey barrels from the nearby River Boyne to an old distillery on the top of a nearby hill. They added €4,800 to the prize pot.

Paudie, Katelyn and Eamon were secretly chosen as the first three Traitors in the group, and they met for their first conclave to select a 'murder' victim.

In episode two, David was revealed as the first 'murder' of the game.

The mission saw the remaining 21 contestants deciphering Ogham symbols written on stones and translating them into Irish language words. The group added €5,000 to the prize pot.

Faithful Diane was banished from the castle after the first Round Table.

In episode three, the contestants found out that Niall had been the next Faithful to be 'murdered'.

The remaining 19 contestants completed a mission where they had 15 minutes to find and dig up 200 gold bars scattered throughout the woods using their hands.

At the end of the mission, two masked monks were revealed to be Gemma and John, the previously eliminated contestants. After hearing their pleas, the group had to individually vote for one of them to rejoin the game by placing a gold bar under their feet. John returned to the game, while Gemma was eliminated again.

John got a second chance to play the game

John rejoined the game with a shield, which protects the player from 'murder' overnight. He gave the shield to Traitor Katelyn.

Faithful Nina was banished from the castle after the Round Table.

In episode four, the contestants found out that Michele had been 'murdered'.

The mission saw the remaining 18 players divided into five teams to read riddles from a church book. The clues led to a clothing item worn by one member of the church's masked congregation. The group added €4,000 to the prize pot.

The Round Table vote ended with the banishment of Faithful Linda.

In episode five, John was revealed as the next player to be 'murdered' by the Traitors.

In a water-based mission on the River Boyne, the remaining 16 contestants were divided into teams to unlock a chest containing €2,000 within 30 minutes. The players had to figure the code out by rafting over from one side of the river to the other and solving math equations. The group added €2,600 to the prize pot.

Traitor Eamon was banished from the castle after a dramatic Round Table.

Eamon was the first Traitor to be banished

The remaining Traitors, Katelyn and Paudie, decided not to 'murder' and instead tried to recruit Nick as a Traitor.

In episode six, it was revealed that Nick rejected the Traitors' offer and remained as Faithful.

The mission saw the contestants play games in a casino-style format. They added €1,500 to the prize pot and Faithful Oyin won a shield.

Traitor Katelyn was banished from the castle after the Round Table, leaving Paudie as the only remaining Traitor.

Paudie then had to "blackmail" another player, giving them an ultimatum to either join him as a Traitor or be 'murdered'.

Katelyn was found out as a Traitor

In episode seven, Paudie successfully blackmailed his own son Andrew to join him as a Traitor.

Instead of selecting one Faithful to be 'murdered', the father and son Traitors were asked to put four players on "death row". The next night, only those four players could be 'murdered'. They selected Joanna, Christine, Patrick and Mark.

The four players on death row were locked up in a shed in the castle grounds. The mission saw the group split into two groups to rescue a contestant of their choosing from death row. Christine was chosen by the winning group.

The Round Table vote was a dead heat between Traitor Andrew and Faithful Patrick. After a second vote, Andrew was banished from the castle.

Paudie was again left as the last remaining Traitor and had to blackmail another Faithful to join him.

Andrew briefly joined his father as a Traitor

In episode eight, Nick agrees to join Paudie as a Traitor and they then decide to 'murder' Mark.

In the mission, half of the contestants were tasked with trekking into the forest to listen to the “sound of the spirits”. They then had to run to a phone box to repeat this sound to the other team, who were tasked with finding a doll inside the castle who sang the same song. The group added €3,000 to the prize fund, and Vanessa found a shield.

The Round Table saw Faithful Patrick banished from the castle.

After the Round Table, the Traitors were tasked with 'murdering' someone in plain sight, by placing a curse on their victim and giving them a "farewell hug". Nick was successful in hugging Christine.

Nick agreed to become as Traitor when given an ultimatum

In episode nine, the contestants were told that one of them had been cursed and would be dead by the end of the day.

The mission turned into a traditional Irish funeral for the cursed player, with the contestants answering questions on the way to find out which one of them will be 'murdered'. Christine, Faye and Ben were placed in open coffins. The other players were asked to place black roses in the coffin of the person they believed had been 'murdered'. They incorrectly chose Ben and failed to add money to the prize fund.

The Round Table ended with the banishment of Traitor Paudie.

Nick, as the only remaining Traitor, had to decide which player he would like to blackmail to join him.

When do the next episodes air?

The Traitors Ireland continues on Sunday at 9.30pm, Monday at 9.35pm and ends on Tuesday at 9.35pm on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player.

Each episode is followed directly by The Traitors Ireland: Uncloaked on RTÉ One, except on Tuesday, when it's on RTÉ2.