The day was 5 March. It was on that date that Bank of Ireland shares closed at what may be a once-in-a-gener­ation low of just 12.5 cent. It was a price that could never be justified by the assets on the balance sheet of the bank.

But yet the fear of a dilution of the bank's shares or wholesale nationalisation allowed the stock to get beaten down to those levels. They have yet to come even close to testing those lows. Those brave enough to have placed an order the next morning would have been sitting on a huge paper gain last week when the shares climbed back over €2. In terms of the year to date performance, the stock is up 141%.

Institutions realised in early March just how undervalued the shares were. Funds run by Charles Schwab, Blackrock Group and Prudential moved into the stock in March, according to filings, and presumably made large killings in what traders call "bottom fishing", finding bargains where others don't see them.

March, it's worth noting, was the period when Irish debt was trading at its most elevated levels and there was concern about an IMF rescue package being needed for Ireland. It was not a time when the mood music was right for Irish banking stocks. But still, funds could see that the stock was mispriced. Never in Irish banking history has fortune favoured the brave so much.