At the door of Galway city’s Coláiste na Coiribe there was a sense of sympathy and a feeling of relief among parents as they dropped off their children.

One parent, a member of the striking Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI), said she felt conflicted as she left her child at the school.

Another parent, Margaret Corcoran, was conflicted in a different way as her son, a Leaving Cert student, attends Saint Jarlath's in Tuam which was closed by the strike.

Her daughter attends Coláiste na Coiribe, an all-Irish secondary school, and was unaffected.

“It would be grand if this only went on for a few days, but I would be worried for my son’s education if it continued,” Ms Corcoran said. “It would be a disaster if it continues and of course I would be a little worried about my son . . . But I do appreciate where they’re coming from as promises have not been delivered to them.”

Business as normal

Máire Ban Uí Chonghaile said she was relieved the strike did not affect their school as she would be docked pay if she had to stay at home to mind her son, who is a pupil there.

“I understand where the teachers are coming from, but thank God it’s business as normal for us today,” she said.

A Scottish parent, who said he was a former teacher and garda, said the teachers did not get paid enough.

“You can judge a society by the way they treat professions like teachers, guards and nurses,” he said.

One man, who asked not to be named, said the Luas drivers had been given into when they went on strike, and it was only a matter of time before the same happened with the teachers.

Another parent said her Leaving Cert son told her he was relieved that his school was open, given the year that was in it.

A young mother said she was very relieved.

“It would have been very hard for me to make alternative arrangements for my 13-year-old son to be minded,” she said.