"God is on our side," commented one teacher at St Munchin's Diocesan College in Limerick yesterday as winter sunshine beamed on the picketers all day.
A new air of defiance was apparent on the picket lines as teachers dug into their positions following the Taoiseach's comments on the ASTI strike in The Irish Times.
Keeping warm with cups of coffee from a nearby service station, they were suffering the taunts of the more carefree pupils attending the nearby Scoil Ide national school. "I hope you lose," shouted one defiant schoolboy liberated from his classes at 3 p.m. "Wait until I get you next year," was the reply. Others wished their teachers were on strike.
Mr David Quilter, the shop steward, said there had been some hooting cars and words of support from parents collecting their children from the national school.
"A lot of staff would have been easy about it initially. They are definitely getting into it now," he said.
They were less optimistic about an imminent end to the strike, saying the refund of docked pay would only lead to discussion. "They have not started on the hard work yet," Mr Quilter added. "The three days' docked pay was a serious mistake."
At Presentation Secondary School, the ASTI branch secretary in Limerick, Mr Tony McKernan, said there was a fantastic atmosphere on the picket line following the Taoiseach's article. "We saw it for what it was, a smokescreen and a way of diverting attention from Liam Lawlor going to prison."
He said the longer the dispute went on, the greater the feeling it was going to be fought "all the way". A physics, science and maths teacher, he added that his counterpart in industry was getting 2 1/2 times his salary.
In Ennis, a teacher at Rice College said picketers had a quiet day and that cars which hooted could be doing so out of anger as well as solidarity.
Mr Michael Corley, chairman of the Clare ASTI branch and a former president, said teachers were frustrated at the Department's attitude while there had been little animosity expressed at yesterday's pickets.