Rising oil prices and a hawkish statement from a European Central Bank council member on interest rates provided the impetus for the Iseq in the absence of any real news from domestic players today.
The Dublin market finished down 106.6 points, or 1.7 per cent, at 6,128.9 points.
The Iseq was down by just under half a per cent earlier this afternoon as weakness in some of the heavyweights was off-set by a trading statement from AIB.
At 12.30pm the Iseq was trading down 30 points at 6,206.
Traders said the AIB statement, which reiterated earlier guidance, had been well received, adding that it would add to the momentum of a stock that had performed well since US bank M&T, in which AIB has a 24 per cent stake, posted strong first quarter profits last week.
Meanwhile European shares fell for a second consecutive day today, led lower by banks after Royal Bank of Scotland unveiled a record rights issue, while gains in mining and oil stocks lent some support. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index unofficially closed down 0.6 per cent at 1,303.88 points.
The FTSE 100 ended down 18.3 points at 6,034.7. The Frankfurt DAX index ended at 6728.3 points, down 58.25 or 0.86 percent while, in Paris, the CAC-40 index closed at 4872.64 points, down 37.71 or 0.77 percent.
(Additional reporting - Reuters)