A few days after her whirlwind lock-in, arrest and high court ordeal, Caroline Cullen, an accounts assistant and one of the "Thomas Cook 28", is relieved to be home. "I'm delighted it's over but I'm still very angry. We spent nine hours in the Bridewell garda station, which was awful. It was all too much. But the police were brilliant, I have to say. They brought us in food and drinks and allowed us to use the sergeant's toilet."

The craziness unfolded on 31 July, the Friday morning of the August bank-holiday weekend, when Thomas Cook workers occupied the Grafton Street branch in protest at a redundancy package of five weeks and immediate closure of the Dublin offices. They had been expecting the offices to close on 6 September and had voted for industrial action to begin on 7 August in a bid to secure a better eight weeks' redundancy package. However, the staff were unprepared for what they regarded as an ambush by Thomas Cook management on that infamous Friday. They were told to leave quietly or lose everything bar the statutory two weeks per year of service. The lock-in that ensued may have at times resembled a pyjama party, but the motive, organisation and consequences were very serious indeed.

When the workers chose to ignore an injunction on the Saturday morning for them to vacate the building, they knew that it was only a matter of time before the law lost its patience. That moment came on bank-holiday Monday when the High Court gave them until 7pm that evening to leave the building. After listening to advice from their union, the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA), and their legal team, the Thomas Cook workers still voted to defy the order and waited for the inevitable.

At 5am on the fifth morning of the protest, gardaí broke down the door and arrested the group, which consisted of mostly women. "It was terrifying when they broke that door down. It was so upsetting and we were all traumatised," says Caroline. Her sister Bernie, who worked in the foreign exchange at the branch, agrees. "We knew they were coming but it was a different story when it actually happened. It's not something you're prepared for at all. It was very scary."

Caroline and Bernie are quite typical of the workers at Thomas Cook in Dublin, with 18 years of service between them. Many of the young women had worked together at the same branch for over 10 years and as a result the decision to stand together in protest was an easy and unanimous one to make. Some of the women had acted as each other's bridesmaids, they had stood as godparents for each other's children, they had witnessed friends at the branch buy first houses or lose a parent ? all the huge milestones in a lifetime. Antoinette Shevlin has been with the company for 10 years and believes this is one of main reasons the maltreatment was such a bitter pill to swallow. "I started here in my mid-20s. We've grown up with each other really. It's like breaking up a family."

Apart from the emotional loss, many of the workers were keen to stress that they loved their jobs and were happy working for Thomas Cook, until things turned sour. "We were proud to work for them. That's why we gave such long service and that's why we were so upset that they came in and treated us the way they treated us. The emotions have been just terrible. But we've gone through it together," says Caroline.

In many ways this wasn't a typical lock-in, in that testosterone was noticeably absent. Big Jim Larkin would have been confused but supportive. The headquarters was littered with hair-straightening irons and make-up bags and was at times animated with chats on the perceived weight gain from all the free food. There were the huge deliveries of fish and chips from Leo Burdock's, free breakfasts from Superquinn and free doughnuts from McDonald's, among many displays of support. There were children everywhere, crying or playing amid placards that said things like, "We Sold Tickets for the Titanic and Now We're Sinking." Grannies, mammies, daddies, aunts and uncles dropped by at various points during the day to offer support. Alice Coffey, mother to Caroline and Bernie, was a semi-permanent fixture at the lock-in but found the goings-on tough to take. "When I see my girls upset, I get upset. That's why I was there at the weekend. I needed to support them."

Hugs were abundant, tears were occasional, and it all felt very female with Wendy Alton, the branch manager, at the helm. With 17 years of service and much to lose financially by standing with the rest of the employees, head-girl Wendy was never going to abandon the staff. "The way they treated us was disgusting," she says shaking her head.

Amid the madness of the lock-in, Grace Kelly, who has been with Thomas Cook for 11 years, managed to mark her birthday. She turned "over 35" but instead of a romantic dinner a deux with her fiancé, she found herself in the middle of an industrial dispute. "They all sang happy birthday and everybody was really nice and we had a cake. Believe it or not, the day lent itself to a bit of fun." Then there was Avril Boyne, the now infamous eight-and-a-half-months-pregnant Thomas Cook worker who went into labour during the garda swoop at 5am on Tuesday morning. Avril gave birth later that morning to a girl called Chelsea at the Coombe hospital. Her partner Ian who was by her side during the lock-in, was allowed to be with her for the birth but was arrested afterwards and taken to the High Court with the others.

After all the mayhem of front pages, radio interviews and TV3 appearances, the workers are now facing a grim reality. They have lost their jobs. There was never going to be a happy ending. "The weekend went so fast, I didn't get a chance to sit down and think about it," says Bernie. "But now the emotions have started to come. I have to try and get a job. It's all on top of me at the moment. It's hard to think. One day at a time." All things considered, Caroline has no regrets about the action they took and feels the workers were left with little option. "We stood together and now Thomas Cook has come back to the table to have talks with the union. It wasn't just about the money; it was about making a point, not just for ourselves but for everybody."