Hunger strike may return

Water protesters in Wheatfield prison “are willing to go back on hunger strike” if an agreement they claim to have made with prison officials falls through.

The three men — Derek Byrne, Paul Moore and Damien O’Neill — said they had been refusing food since being moved from Mountjoy to Wheatfield on Friday.

They had stated they were planning on refusing fluids from Monday morning if they were not sent back to the Mountjoy training unit.

However, prison sources said the men had taken full meals on Monday.

A statement from Derek Byrne, issued through his Facebook page yesterday, said the three men had decided to come off the hunger strike following an agreement with prison officials.

“We have had a meeting with prison officials last night and came to an agreement — we are waiting to see how this agreement works out and are willing to go back on hunger strike if agreement falls through,” said Byrne.

However, security sources said the prison governor does not meet separate groups of prisoners and no agreement was made.

Mr Byrne also accused the media of reporting “a lot of untruths” about the hunger strike and he welcomed the storming of a Cork County Council meeting on Monday night.

An earlier posting on the Facebook page yesterday welcomed the news that “the lads are off hunger strike since last night and are out of solitary confinement”.

Prison sources dismissed these claims, stating that all three men were part of the normal prison regime and had full access to all prison facilities and services.

Responding on Monday on RTÉ television to a question about claims of intimidation of Irish Water staff, Ruth Coppinger of the Anti-Austerity Alliance (AAA) said these workers would be better utilised building homes and fixing pipes.

“I have been on protests, peaceful protests, with these workers. They also have to consider that if a community doesn’t like what they are doing, they also have to consider whether they want to continue doing it,” she said.

Cork AAA councillor Mick Barry on Monday said no council in the country should be off limits for protests as long as campaigners are in prison.