Bobby Sands Street, Iran
How Iranian Youth Honoured an Irish Martyr
In June 1980, Ayatollah Khomeini delivered a speech outlining his political philosophy and world outlook. A notable part of this speech highlighted his concern for the oppressed worldwide, emphasising that this was a core aspect of his faith. He stated:
“Be so merciful to your friends that you do not cease from bestowing upon them all that you possess. Be aware that today’s world is the world of oppressed people and that, sooner or later, theirs is the victory! [Shouts of approval] The oppressed are the ones who shall inherit the earth and shall govern by God’s decree.
Once again, I announce my support for all movements, fronts, and groups which are fighting in order to escape from the claws of the Eastern or Western superpowers.” [1]
Through this education, the Iranian people—especially the youth—grew to respect and acknowledge the sacrifices and struggles of others, regardless of racial or religious background. In Islam, empathy and understanding for the suffering of others is deeply embedded in the collective psyche.
One example of the positive impact of Imam Khomeini’s teachings occurred in May 1981, when news of Bobby Sands’ death reached Iran. For many young Iranians, Sands was seen as a great revolutionary who had stood up to the British for his people, paying the highest price. The memory of his sacrifice could not be forgotten.
The commemoration happened almost by chance. One student, part of a small circle of friends—all under 15 years old—regularly attended speeches together, covered local streets with political graffiti, distributed flyers, and occasionally got into trouble for their activism. One of them lived on a street that backed onto the British Embassy in the heart of Tehran. Because of this central location and their parents’ more liberal approach, the group often gathered at this flat.
Their original plan to honour Sands was far riskier: from their windows, they could see the Union Jack flying in the embassy’s yard, and they wanted to sneak in at night and replace it with an Irish flag. However, they ran into several problems. If there was a place to buy an Irish flag in Tehran, the 13- and 14-year-olds couldn’t find it. They tried making one, but it looked terrible, and the colours they used were closer to the Iranian flag, raising concerns that it would send the wrong message.
Frustrated and exhausted, they abandoned the flag plan late one evening. Then, someone in the group suggested an old practice: renaming the street. This was the origin of naming a street in Tehran “Bobby Sands Street.”
For those unfamiliar with Bobby Sands, he was a multifaceted figure in modern Irish history: a writer, poet, member of Parliament, and volunteer in the Irish Republican Army (IRA). After sixty-six days on hunger strike in Long Kesh Prison in Northern Ireland, he died in an attempt to regain political status for himself and his fellow Republican prisoners. Since 1976, the British government had tried to deny the humanity of the Republicans in Northern Ireland by refusing to treat them as prisoners of war. Until his tragic death, Sands participated in three nonviolent protests within the prison—the Blanket Protest, the Dirty Protest, and the 1981 Hunger Strike. During these protests, he wrote about his experiences on toilet paper with a refillable pen he hid inside his body, providing the world with a first-hand account of life inside the prison [2]. Sands was only twenty-seven when he died in 1981, having spent about nine years—a third of his life—in prison because of his unwavering belief in a unified Ireland. Through his tragic death and selfless sacrifice, his fellow inmates were once again granted political status, and Sands became a martyr for Northern Ireland.
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