So the deal is done even if it has yet to receive the final imprimatur at a March extraordinary general meeting. Eircom will hive off Eircell and flog it to Vodafone for what amounts to just over €4.1 billion (£3.22 billion), once debt is taken into account.

The price is almost €1 billion, or 19.6 per cent, less than that originally mooted when talks between the parties began a couple of months ago. It also means the value of the sum of the parts of Eircom is well below the price paid for it by the shareholders when they first invested in the flotation 17 months ago.

Of course, the telecoms sector has been in the wars since then. On top of that, Eircom has effectively been in the shop window since its flotation and has failed, singularly, in attracting the sort of attention it expected.

All in all, it has been a salutary experience for first-time investors in the stock market. The whole escapade should also provide some valuable lessons for the Government, particularly the decision of the then administration to approve the arrival of strategic partners - KPN and Telia as Comsource.

Since the flotation, those partners - who hold 35 per cent of the company - have done little but undermine the company and its share price by making it clear they wished to be rid of Eircom, but only on their terms. Next time, the State looks to privatise one of its businesses, it would do well to look carefully at the intentions of any strategic partner.