  It was suggested that some of the short-duration Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRB) are
giant flares of Soft Gamma-ray Repeaters (SGR) in nearby galaxies. To test this
hypothesis, I have constructed a sample of 47 short GRBs, detected by the
Inter-Planetary Network (IPN), for which the position is constrained by at
least one annulus on the celestial sphere. For each burst, I have checked
whether its IPN 3-sigma error region coincides with the apparent disk of one of
316 galaxies found within 20 Mpc. I find a single match of a GRB with M74,
which could, however, be due to a chance coincidence. I estimate the IPN
efficiency as a function of fluence and derive the galaxy sample completeness.
I find that assuming there is a cut-off in the observed energy distribution of
SGR flares at <10^47 erg, the fraction of SGRs among short GRBs is <16% (95%
confidence). I estimate the number of active SGRs in each one of the galaxies
in the sample, and combine it with the distances to these galaxies, the IPN
efficiency, and the SGR flare energy distribution, to derive the rate of giant
flares with energy above 4x10^46 erg. I find that the rate of such giant flares
is about (0.4-5)x10^-4 yr^-1 per SGR. This rate is marginally consistent with
the observed Galactic rate. Comparison of the Galactic rate with the inferred
extragalactic rate implies a steepening of the flare energy distribution at
<3x10^46 erg (95% confidence). Using the Galactic SGR flare rate, I set a lower
limit of one percent on the fraction of SGR flares among short GRBs.
