Irish hunger strike survivor Pat Sheehan warns Heba Muraisi as she passes Bobby Sands’ 66-day protest record. The Sinn Féin MLA tells Palestine strikers of the toll on friends and family
Pat Sheehan MLA, who survived 55 days on the 1981 Irish Republican hunger strike, has offered a sobering warning to the group of activists currently refusing food in British prisons.
Reflecting on the period when ten of his comrades died in the Long Kesh protest, Sheehan emphasized the gravity of the psychological and physical toll. In comments to Al Jazeera about the Palestine hunger strike, Sheehan advised: “The most important thing for any hunger striker is to be mentally prepared for what lies ahead.
“It’s a very lonely and difficult road, and you have to be totally committed to your objectives. But you also have to be aware of the impact it’s having on your family and loved ones.”
“My advice to them would be to stay strong, stay focused, but also be mindful of your own health and the pressure you’re putting on yourselves and your families.”
Sheehan is an MLA for the political party Sinn Féin. In a social media video for the party about the Palestine hunger strikers, he said that: “No one should be criminalised for legitimately protesting against a genocide.”
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This veteran perspective comes at a critical juncture for 31-year-old Heba Muraisi, who has now reached 67 days without food. Bobby Sands, who led the Irish republican protest, died on day 66 during the 1981 hunger strike.
The 1981 Irish hunger strike was a definitive and gruelling period in the Northern Ireland conflict, led by Irish Republican prisoners who demanded “political status” rather than being treated as common criminals. The protest, which focused on five core demands—including the right to wear civilian clothes and to be exempt from prison work—saw ten men starve to death, beginning with Bobby Sands on May 5, 1981.
The strike finally collapsed on October 3, 1981, not because of a formal agreement with the government, but because the families of the remaining strikers began to authorize medical intervention once their loved ones lapsed into unconsciousness. While the strike ended in tragedy, it ultimately secured many of the prisoners’ demands shortly thereafter and acted as a catalyst that transformed Sinn Féin into a dominant force in mainstream electoral politics.
A close friend of Muraisi has warned that “death is a very real possibility” as she becomes the longest-serving Palestine hunger striker. Since passing the three-month mark, Muraisi has experienced uncontrollable muscle spasms and breathing difficulties, symptoms that her supporters fear indicate irreversible neurological damage.
Despite her worsening condition, she was recently transferred from HMP Bronzefield in Surrey to HMP New Hall in West Yorkshire, a move her next of kin described as a “cruel” attack intended to isolate her 200 miles away from her family.
In audio messages, Muraisi described a state of near-total isolation, reporting that her dizzy spells have reached the point of nausea and that her communications with doctors and legal teams are being systematically blocked. She stated: “My body shakes, I get dizzy to the point of nausea and now breathing is getting hard.
“I am deteriorating in this cell, I am dying. Here I’ve been heavily restricted and monitored, visitors not being approved, phone numbers being rejected including doctors, emails getting blocked, my legal team has been ignored.”
The strike involves members of the Filton 24 and Brize Norton 4, who are awaiting a June trial for direct action protests against Elbit Systems. While some participants like Qesser Zuhrah, Amu Gib, and Teuta Hoxha have paused their strikes, others remain in life-threatening territory.
Kamran Ahmed has been hospitalized five times and is now suffering from sporadic hearing loss on day 60 of his strike, while Lewie Chiaramello, who has type 1 diabetes, continues to refuse food every other day.
