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STATE DOCUMENTS FROM the 1980s reveal that the government had concerns about Iran opening an embassy in Dublin and about their sympathies towards the IRA.
A “confidential” document on political observations between Ireland and Iran states there were concerns about Iran’s “championing” of Bobby Sands. The document points out that the issue could be “brought under control fairly quickly” as it was mainly due to their “ignorance” of the Northern Ireland situation.
Bobby Sands
The briefing adds that the hunger striker’s championing was being used as a “convenient outlet for anti-Britishness, as it is a zeal for the Provo cause”.
Hostages
It also states that there was a “chill of western relations” after the taking of hostages from the US embassy in Iran in 1979, which affected Ireland too. The state document adds that the hostages, which were released in 1981, stopped off in Shannon “en route home”. The release allowed other western countries like Ireland to build up a relationship with the country.
It was also expected that if an embassy was opened in Dublin, “the interactions with existing embassies… the French, US and Egyptian embassies… may be frosty…”.
Addressing the issue of Middle Eastern students in Ireland, the point was made that the embassy might try to “spread the gospel of Khomeini’s revolutionary Islam among this group”. Other concerns were that there would be Iraqi protests outside the embassy .
The brief recommends to put “no obstacle” in the way of Iran opening an embassy in Dublin.
Iranian Embassy
In another letter, dated 8 September 1981, to the secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs, diplomat Niall Holohan, who is currently Ireland’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, stated he had met with Mr Taghavi, the then Director of the Third Political Division in the Foreign Ministry in Tehran who voiced their interest in opening an Iranian embassy in Dublin.
Holohan said he did not respond to the query, but added that given the attacks on Iranian embassies in several European countries at the time, it was “probably fortunate that there is no official Iranian presence in Dublin at this present time”.
He said during his phone call with Mr Taghavi, he was asked to explain Ireland’s position on the happenings in Northern Ireland and stated that Iran’s “sympathy for the IRA” was well-known, although he understood the organisation was “illegal”.
Holohan stated he explained that “however honourable the aim of the IRA might be, their methods were repugnant to the Irish Government and to the vast majority of the Irish people”. He said he pointed out that the Irish Government would not look favourably on any foreign government giving aid to the IRA. He said Mr Taghavi said that often accurate reporting on the Troubles in Northern Ireland was difficult to come by and appreciated his account of the situation.
The IRA
In another document relating to the coverage of the IRA in Iran, the Department of Foreign Affairs was forwarded on some of the media reports from Tehran. It states that the “Foreign Relations Officer” for Sinn Fein sent condolences to the Iranian Government following the death of a number of their senior ministers.
It stated the favourable attention being given to the IRA and the hunger strikers was due to “Britain being treated as the béte noir of world of imperialism” adding that the imperial role of Britain in Iran and their closeness to the US, was reasoning why the Northern Ireland situation was “being used as a further stick with which to beat the British”.
While another document revealed that a British Foreign Ministry diplomat stated they did not think the Iranian sympathies towards the IRA would develop beyond a “symbolic level,” pointing out that the road running along side the British Embassy compound in Tehran was renamed after the hunger striker Bobby Sands, but was not to be taken too seriously.
Here are some media clippings from Iran about Bobby Sands that were sent to the Department of Foreign Affairs in Ireland:
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Let it go….
@HearMeNow33: Are you mad? This will be wall to wall, for a few weeks.
@Tommy Berry: True. Can’t let a chance of some shinner bashing pass them by.
@Seán Óg: says the shinnerbot
@Denis Logan: How predictable of you.
When is the Gardaí report on Charlie Flanagan potential Covid-19 breaches at Colm Horkan funeral
@tirnanog1979: no comparison and you know it
@Jane: Both funerals broke the regulations Jane and you know it.
@tirnanog1979: that would be Detective Garda Colm Horkan.
@Seán Óg: SF could have sent representatives to Mr Storeys funeral as happened with Garda Horkans funeral and I don’t think anyone could have complained. Instead SF attended the funeral en masse, traveling from all over the country to do so and gathered in a graveyard to give a graveside oration where no burial was taking place.
@Jane: Nonsense, they were as bad as each other
@Jane: Both funerals had large crowds and poor social distancing. If you admonish SF for the Storey funeral then surely you must do the same for Garda Horkan’s funeral. Your disliking of SF seems to be clouding your judgement Jane.
@Seán Óg: but only one was attending in very large numbers by political party reps from all over the country. That’s the difference.
Why is it even when SF are obviously wrong no criticism is allowed?
Why do ye want to replace a crowd that dodge questions with another crowd that dodge questions?
@Jane: Critism is allowed Jane, but the obvious point you insist on ignoring, is that critism is selective and hypocritical. As was pointed out, you cant criticise one and not the other – but in your case, you did just that.
To me, both were wrong. It would seem, that to you, there is only political captital to be made from criticising one.
@tirnanog1979: It ill behooves Shinners to comment on any Garda’s funeral —–They were responsible for quite a few in their time and indeed have been known to give rapturous acclaim to certain Garda’s murderers.
@Angela McCarthy: and you are ignoring the involvement of a political party in only one of the funerals. A political party that was involved in the making of the rules for everyone else in that jurisdiction.
@Jane: A political party? dont you mean political parties, as more than one seems to be set on debating it. but not the other.
@Angela McCarthy: not sure what you mean by that Angela. Only one party is in bother over it because only one party attended en masse. Bringing a crowd to the graveyard unnecessarily was just ridiculous.
Everyone understands that Bobby Storey was an important figure in SF and as such no one would have batted an eyelid if some of the senior politicians in SF had attended as was done with Garda Horkans funeral.
@Jane: Where did I say no criticism is allowed? People attending both funerals broke government guidelines. So don’t cherry pick your outrage Jane. Call a spade a spade.
@Seán Óg: tell you what Sean you just continue to ignore what are the obvious differences between them as I’ve pointed out above. And continue to be outraged at all and any criticism leveled at SF.
@Jane: I have criticised SF over the attendance of Bobby’s funeral. Because it was wrong to stage a funeral with those numbers in attendance. But you ignore the fact that large numbers attended the Garda’s funeral, including some politicians. Same rules for everyone Jane.
One rule for that crowd, Sur they are the “law” 8 cremations the same day and no one allowed .
@Ger Murray: who’s that crowd ?.
@Airwave81: The uniformed woman and men that lined the streets
Clear the decks, Nolan show can’t wait to ramp up the whole funeral again, rest in peace Big Bobby, a giant among men.
now could they start investigating collusion with he uvf
The usual crowd talking about people in uniforms blah, blah, blah. What I saw were people in ordinary clothes coming out to see a true republican being laid yo rest, with a quarter of a million watching online which Sinn Féin Féin set up. The PSNI have already stated that there were no problems with it. Establishmemt supporters again trying to take away from their parties failure. No bank bailout? Ha ha
Just ticking a box… Nothing will happen
have your say