The Ireland Half Year M&A Review 2026, published in association with William Fry, provides a comprehensive overview of developments in the Irish M&A market during the first half of 2026 and offers an outlook for the months ahead.

Highlights include:

• Deal trends. In H1 2026, M&A deal volume in Ireland reached 237 deals, a decline of 17% compared to H1 2025. Deal value in H1 2026, however, tripled relative to the same period last year – from €11.4bn to €33.2bn – due to a number of billion-euro plus transactions.
• M&A deal distribution. Mid-market deals of €5m-€250m made up 82% of H1 activity, but a handful of billion-euro-plus transactions drove the year-on-year surge in aggregate value.
• Inbound activity. Inbound M&A accounted for around 61% of Irish M&A by volume in H1 and practically all deal value in the period. All but one of the 20 largest deals announced in H1 were inbound cross-border transactions.
• Private equity. PE investors announced 41 deals involving Irish companies in H1 2026, down 36% from last year’s first-half total of 64.