The accelerated placement at 3.64 euros per share lowered the state's holding in AIB to roughly 47%, the finance ministry said in a statement.

Dublin began gradually selling shares in AIB at the start of 2022. A similarly sized sale last November was conducted at 2.96 euros per share.

Ireland pumped 64 billion euros ($70 billion), or almost 40% of its then annual economic output, into the country's banks after a huge property crash in the late 2000s.

Two banks that swallowed up around half of that capital still failed.

Wednesday's sale took the return from AIB through disposals, coupons, fees and dividends to 13 billion euros.

The state's remaining stake is worth 4.7 billion euros, meaning it is still in line to make a loss on the 21 billion euros it spent bailing out the bank.

Finance Minister Michael McGrath said that while receipts from previous sales have been returned to the exchequer and used to pay down debt, he will examine how best to use the proceeds in this instance taking into account the mandate of the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, the country's sovereign development fund.

Dublin sold its final shares in Bank of Ireland last September.

Last month, in its first sale of shares since 2015 in the third surviving retail bank, Permanent TSB (PTSB), it lowered its stake to 57%.

($1 = 0.9132 euros)

(Reporting by Padraic Halpin; editing by Jason Neely)