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The answer of Martin is correct. Moreover, the use of subfolder at the start is a good way of giving some strength to the new geo-targeted versions thanks to PageRank flow through internal linking. However, in the middle term, I suggest you to start monitoring if the new geo-targeted versions are earning enough traffic and conversions (both metrics must always go together) to eventually justify the migration, for instance, of the french version from the subfolder to a .fr domain name. In the meanwhile, though, remember that, even if the new geo-targeted versions are living into the .com domain and earning authority from the backlinks earned by the .com site, you should consider them as if they were totally separate domains in terms of authority and relevance. In other words: you must build links for your /ie and /fr versions if you want them to really rank for competitive keywords.

Guys, I'd like to thank you both for your answers and help with this. I have a much better idea of the way forward now.