Around 300 shareholders of Anglo Irish Bank gathered in a Dún Laoghaire hotel for an information meeting with a solicitor who is considering organising a lawsuit against the bank and others.
The meeting was held to gauge shareholder interest in pursuing a legal action for compensation, after their investments were effectively wiped out by the bank's nationalisation.
It is understood that the solicitor behind the move, Julian Deale from Monkstown in Dublin, has already taken advice from a senior counsel on how best to proceed with such an action.
The meeting lasted for over two hours.
The media were excluded from it and the solicitor who organised it declined to be interviewed.
However, it is understood the shareholders present were told that it was a preliminary meeting, designed to discuss all options and gauge the appetite for further action.
A decision was taken to have another meeting at a later date, and that a committee would possibly be formed to consider taking the action forward.
They heard it was too early to decide who exactly any claim could be taken against.
Sharholders were also told that it was not possible to take a class action in this country, but that there were ways for individuals to take action as a group.
They were told a senior counsel and a firm of forensic accountant had been consulted on the way forward.
Speaking on their way into the meeting, individual shareholders told the media that they were angry about the circumstances in which they lost their money, in some cases running into tens of thousands of euro.
A number had travelled significant distances to attend, with two people expected from England and one from the Isle of Man.
Many said they would be prepared to put up money in order to back a legal action.
Meanwhile, a second firm of solicitors, Lavelle Coleman, has confirmed it has received approaches from around 100 shareholders interested in taking a group action against the bank.
The company also confirmed that it has received preliminary advice from senior counsel about such a move.
