The clients were very supportive of the nurses and, while only two of them were on the picket line, the families of residents said they were sympathetic to the nurses' action.

Some of the 150-plus psychiatric nurses picketing in Portrane recalled going out on strike in 1971 for a 35-hour week. They thought they had got their victory in 1980 when the labour court ruled that psychiatric nurses should get a 35-hour week in line with many of their colleagues, due to the stressful nature of their work.

This time around, they expressed determination to get the long-promised 35-hour week and increased pay that would bring them in line with less-qualified care workers. The mood was upbeat as they carried placards stating "Pay and we'll stay, don't and we won't" and "Long day, low pay, no way".

Nurses marching up and down outside the hospital gate were in good form, but angry.

"We are in this for the long haul, " said Charlie Rogan, who has worked as a psychiatric nurse at St Ita's for decades. "We don't understand why what was promised 27 years ago has still not been given."

"We're more determined than ever, " said Gerry Maguire, who works with intellectually disabled people. The nurses said they had no faith in benchmarking but regretted it had to come to this. They did not mind being docked pay, on the grounds that if they were not in work then they shouldn't get paid. Many of their coworkers were inside providing services for some of the most vulnerable people in the state.

Built in 1900, St Ita's was developed to cater for 2,000 psychiatric residents. A beautiful, imposing, palatial redbrick structure, it sits on a rural headland in north Co Dublin. Notorious for its poor institutional conditions, it is now home to only 300 residents - 185 of whom are residents in St Joseph's intellectual disability service, while the other 120 people with mental-health difficulties are in the main psychiatric hospital. It is also a base for community mental-health services for north Co Dublin and many other clients attend day services there.

Despite the picket on the gate from 11.10am to 11.50am, it was business as usual: all the units had the usual night-time staffing ratios, the day-care and workshops were going ahead, clients were in art class and receiving occupational therapy, lunch was being prepared.

Retired staff from St Ita's were also out to show their support, passers-by beeped their horns and, with a general election in the offing, three prospective candidates were out in force.

The nurses were putting it up to Dara O'Brien, a local Fianna F�il candidate. Contrary to government policy, he doesn't "see why this issue can't be dealt with outside of benchmarking".

There was a general consensus among the nurses picketing that if Fianna F�il can't sort this out, they don't have a chance in the forthcoming election. The Labour and Sinn F�in candidates were also keen to communicate their full support for the nurses' action. At 11.50am, the union rep beckoned the nurses back to work. Placards came down, the chanting stopped and they walked back up the long avenue. By midday, all those on the picket were back in their jobs.

Earlier, at 10.50am at Beaumont Hospital, apart from the media presence, there was no reason to believe any industrial action was taking place. The nurses on their 12th day of work-to-rule were about to go out on an hour's work stoppage. It was orchestrated well - no one leaving the wards or units until after 11am and everyone back by midday, on the nose.

Beaumont CEO Liam Duffy later said, "The one-hour stoppage did not give rise to any disruption of services over and above that anticipated." As planned, "A small number of outpatient appointments and one-day procedures had to be rescheduled over the next week to two weeks; emergency cover was agreed in advance and normal services were provided."