30 August 2001 Edition
Back issue: Tenth victim
Tenth victim
BRITISH intransigence claimed yet another young life in the H-Blocks of Long Kesh, when Derry republican Michael Devine, after falling into unconsciousness on the 60th day of his hunger strike, became the tenth Hunger Striker to die, on Thursday week, 20 August.
By the previous day, Michael's condition had reached a critical stage, with him falling into increasingly frequent bouts of unconsciousness and his family were then maintaining a 24-hour vigil at his bedside.
On Thursday morning at approximently 7.50am, Micky died, having resisted, to the end, British attempts to criminalise him.
Later on Thursday, the condition of Pat McGeown, then 42 days on hunger strike, deteriorated rapidly to such a point that his life was in immediate danger. His wife Pauline had been to the prison to visit Pat early on Thursday afternoon and had noticed a marked and serious deterioration. She immediately asked for daily visits in view of Pat's condition, but this request was refused by the prison authorities.
Meanwhile, the remaining five Hunger Strikers were joined on the fast by Bernard Fox, a Belfast man who began refusing food on Monday. Liam McCloskey, who on Wednesday was 24 hours on Hunger Strike, Pat Sheehan, then 17 days on Hunger Strike, Jackie McMullan, then 10 days, and Bernard Fox, are still being held in the protesting H-Blocks along with the rest of the Blanket men, and they are not yet experiencing any serious ill-effects. Liam McCloskey is expected to be moved to the prison hospital early next week.
Already in the prison hospital are the two longest fasting prisoners, County Antrim man Laurence McKeown, who completed his 59th day without food on Wednesday and County Tyrone man Matt Devlin, then 43 days on Hunger Strike.
The condition of both men is now giving grave cause for concern, with Laurence McKeown obviously reaching a critical stage.
Despite the fact that Laurence McKeown was in a weak condition when his family visited him on Tuesday, and that he was having increasing trouble with his with his sight, the prison regime still refused to allow his family to visit him on a daily basis, claiming that his condition was not serious enough.
Last weekend, the condition of Matt Devlin had also been causing grave concern. Throughout the weekend he had been finding it almost impossible to hold down water and this was acutely weakening him. However, this problem eased somewhat on Monday and by Tuesday, when his family visited him, he was very weak but holding down spring water, in much better spirits, and his physical condition seemed to have stabilised.