Ireland's Carroll sold Aer Lingus shares

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Irish property developer Liam Carroll sold shares this week in Aer Lingus (AERL.I), which triggered a drop in the Irish airline's share price, Irish media reported on Thursday.

Carroll was not immediately available for comment.

The Irish Times and the Irish Independent, without citing sources, said Carroll had sold at least 30 million shares on Wednesday in the former state airline (AERL.L).

The Irish Times said the shares were sold at 1.15 euros each after Carroll had raised his holding in Aer Lingus earlier this year, paying close to 2 euros a share then.

Rival carrier Ryanair (RYA.I)(RYA.L), said late on Wednesday it bought an additional 3.5 million shares in Aer Lingus, bringing its total holdings in the airline to 159,231,025 shares.

Ryanair, Europe's biggest budget carrier which failed to take over Aer Lingus earlier this year, did not say how much it had paid for the stake.

Shares in Aer Lingus closed down 16 percent at 1.15 euros in Dublin on Wednesday, while Ryanair ended 4.7 percent lower at 2.61 euros.

(Reporting by Jonathan Saul; Editing by Erica Billingham)