Teachers' conferences haven't been the same since former Minister for Education, Gemma Hussey, described in her cabinet diaries, At The Cut- ting Edge, how she was groped at the ASTI meeting in 1985. On Monday, the current Minister, Micheal Martin, starts his rounds with the INTO in Ennis, the ASTI in Tralee on Tuesday, the TUI in Galway on Wednesday, the Association of Primary Teaching Sisters in Dublin on Thursday and the National Parents' Council on Friday.
The job has been very much a female preserve, as Niamh Bhreathnach and Mary O'Rourke held it for long periods in recent years. Neither reported having been groped, although O'Rourke often joked about it, so what can Martin expect? As a new minister, and being young and handsome too, sources hint that he should look out.
Traditionally, ministers have endured rough times on their annual appearances and even O'Rourke, who was very relaxed and mixed well with delegates, was given the silent treatment on one occasion - not that it bothered her. Breathnach was much less at ease, surrounded herself with minders and kept her distance.
The INTO, where the formidable Senator Joe O'Toole holds sway, is generally the most difficult, with teacher supply, and violence in the classroom the main issues this year. He once famously described the whole system as like an old battered car with four bald tyres and no spare wheel. At the other end of the spectrum, the TUI gathering of vocational and technical teachers, is regarded as a dinner with a conference attached.