Things are, perhaps perversely, looking up for M&A in Ireland.  The Financial Times pointed out this week that Irish deal making increased a massive 44% last year and is set to increase by another hefty sum this year.

This follows a review on Irish M&A by the law firm William Fry, which points out that mergers and acquisitions are booming in Ireland as the financial sector is restructured. 75% of last year’s activity involved financial firms and the non-Irish are buying up the restructured assets: inflows of international cash tripled to €21.8bn in the first half.

So where should you focus your attention if you want to work in M&A in the Republic?

The list below, from research firm mergermarket, provides a few pointers. AIB is Ireland’s M&A leader, followed by the big US banks. Failing that, try IBI Corporate Finance, or Davy. The surprise inclusion seems to be hedge fund BDT Capital Partners, run by Byron Trott in Chicago.

Irish M&A league table for 2011 

Source: MergerMarket