Iseq index:The year 2006 was a year of highs in the Irish market. For weeks on end, the market report told how the Iseq had reached yet another new closing high. This month, the index breached the 9,000 level for the first time.

Helped by strong performances from the financials and CRH, which together account for more than half of the Iseq's total share capital, the index was up 16 per cent in the first 11 months of the year, while its smaller sister, the Irish Enterprise Exchange (IEX), was up 28 per cent.

Volumes were healthy in all 12 months of the year, a trait one trader described as a recent phenomenon. Others agreed, adding that while volumes were average to good, there was definitely more money passing through the market as the value of the index's members increased.

Stocks, it was felt, could rise no more continued the stellar performances of the previous year, with Kingspan among those producing standout performances. The building materials group appeared to be able to do no wrong, with its shares rising 50 per cent in the first 11 months.

Following a positive trading update in the latter part of the year and talk about the need to make housing more energy efficient, dealers believe the stock still has more ground to cover.

Another name that was a hot topic among investors was C&C. During the year, the drinks and snacks maker sold off its Tayto snacks division, enabling it to focus on the brand that has become synonymous with its recent attraction: Bulmers (or Magners in the UK).

The shares more than doubled in value in the first 11 months and, with cider penetration in the UK market believed to be significantly underestimated by the latest Nielson data, the stock will be watched closely in 2007.

The banks all put in stellar performances, rising by between 11 and 19 per cent on the back of a healthy economy, a strong mortgage market, buoyant demand for private credit and, in many cases, successful overseas expansion. No surprise there then.

The list continues: CRH rounded off what has been an acquisitive year with its largest purchase yet - Apac in the US for €1 billion.

The group's significant exposure to the US has seen the stock suffer amid the downward trend of the dollar, and a gain of only 10 per cent in the shares in the first 11 months leaves the stock significantly undervalued, according to dealers.

Food group IAWS was another Iseq constituent on the acquisition trail in the US this year, with the company acquiring Otis Spunkmeyer, a move that sent its shares to record levels - almost 50 per cent ahead on the year.

Attention was not confined to the big names either. Serial underperformer Waterford Wedgwood came under the spotlight towards the end of the year after saying it had turned the corner.

However, 2006 also featured the group's third fundraising in two years - one that was significantly undersubscribed and which forced chairman Sir Anthony O'Reilly to increase his stake. The shares are still languishing at the bottom of the Iseq pile at seven cents a piece.

One failure of the market in the past year, according to traders, was the lack of new blood.

Irishness was also hard to come by, according to one dealer, who pointed out that even buying an Irish bank such as AIB means buying into the group's overseas growth strategy.

Still, Aer Lingus's somewhat unconventional foray into the public world was heartily welcomed by analysts, investors and dealers alike.

While the long-awaited debut may not have proceeded as the airline's former owner, the Government, had hoped - Ryanair's €1.4 billion takeover offer was on the table before its initial public offering (IPO) was even chilled, let alone cold - Ryanair's move at least raised the profile of Irish airlines.

After listing at a price of €2.20 a share on October 2nd, Aer Lingus shares rose as much as 35 per cent on the back of the Ryanair bid before falling back to trade in recent times below the €2.80 a share offer price.

While welcoming the newcomer to the market, dealers will now be watching the company's progress carefully. The question for 2007 is how the shares will perform now that the Ryanair offer has lapsed - at least until the conclusion of the European Commission's phase two investigation announced last week.

Elsewhere, during the year we waved goodbye to two members - Eircom and Viridian. The departure of the latter had a limited effect on the market as it hardly traded in Dublin.

Eircom's farewell signalled yet another turning point in the former State telecom group's chequered history and a return to the private world.

All in all, the class of 2006 can only be described as a good one. As well as the positive performances by the above-mentioned majors, the second-line stocks and smaller players also proved their worth.

Siteserv, Newcourt and Veris, all newcomers to the IEX in 2006, performed very strongly and, if it's growth you're after in 2007, you could do worse than look to the minnows.