Parish Hall, Llandaf, Cardiff
Friday 21 November 2025 7pm – 9pm
Dafydd Elis-Thomas Nation Builder
Come to hear Aled Eirug discussing his new book with Vaughan Roderick in an event organised by Plaid Cymru History Society, with an opportunity to buy the book signed by the author. Proceedings will be in Welsh and simultaneous translation will be available.
Tribute by Hywel
My father is surrounded by his people today.
He would have enjoyed your company, so many familiar faces to catch up on old times.
I admired my dad, though I never told him that.
My father was a multitasker, teacher by day, campaigner by night and bouncer at Clwb Ifor Bach on the weekend.
The easy path in life is one of conformity – going with the flow, accepting your lot and not asking for more.
Speaking out against injustice, standing up for cause, daring to imagine a different future, requires a degree of self-sacrifice and comes at a price. It ruffles feathers – an irritant to the established order of things.
My father wasn’t a go with the flow sort of guy. In fact, he spent most of his life swimming against the tide in pursuit of more, much more for Wales and its people. He mustered a rag tag army of volunteers to go swimming with him – Dai Payne, Dez Harries, Terry O’Neill, Rhys Lewis, to name but a few – sadly no longer with us but all instrumental in making those hard yards on the long journey to a better future. And not forgetting his dear friend Alan Jobbins who is with us today.
I remember crisscrossing the streets of Cardiff with my dad as a kid, stopping to drop off leaflets, posters and placards. We knew from a young age that my dad liked to talk, and a simple drop-off could quickly turn into a fully-fledged meeting. And it was sitting outside in my father’s second-hand Renault 4, not complete with heating, that my siblings and I learned the art of patience and boy did we learn patience.
In May 1979, my dad decided to stand as the Plaid Cymru Westminster candidate for Cardiff North. His campaign office was located at the top of City Road in Roath – a mile-long road comprising of shops, takeaways, pubs and motorbikes from Japan.
During the course of his election campaign, I would make frequent visits to the campaign office with dad. The place was a hive of activity – boxes pilled high, leaflets being handed out to volunteers and wooden steaks being attached to pictures of my dad for people’s front gardens. If the results of the election were determined by commitment, passion and energy, my dad would have left the rest of the field standing. Sadly, he came in a respectful last with 1,081 votes, just 16,100 votes shy of victory.
On Monday morning, my dad went back to his day job teaching at Gladstone Primary School and I headed off to catch the number 25 bus to take me to my school in Llandaf. As the bus made its way along City Road, past the now closed campaign office, I saw a huge Welsh flag in the window with following words written beneath it. Words that have never left me:
I am wounded but not yet slain
I will rise up and fight again.
I was just 12 years-old at the time but realised in that moment, that my father was in fact a warrior.
And he was true to his word, he did rise up and fight again, and was elected to serve as an Assembly Member in the newly formed National Assembly for Wales in 1999. And that spirit sums up my dad.
He wasn’t perfect by any means. Time dedicated to the cause inevitably resulted in less time to do the normal dad things. But that was okay. He was a good man and solid father who loved his children and family dearly. His Plaid Cymru meetings at the New Ely pub in the 70s were mutually beneficial for both my dad and us siblings. Those meetings yielded several hundred beer mats and a collection that covered our bedroom walls for many years.
My dad was a character, tipyn o cymeriad. He was always smartly dressed, just like his father, and just like his father had no real interest in material things. When the Renault 4 finally packed in, he found a suitable second-hand replacement. His yellow Ford Cortina was instantly recognisable in the neighbourhood. When the rusting fenders above the front wheels needed replacing, dad found a pair of aqua marine fenders that would do the job. There was just something about that car that attracted attention. So much so that it was stolen five times from outside the house. The popularity of Starsky & Hutch, at the time, may have played a part in the thefts. We’ll never know.
It’s hard to summarise a life on a few pieces of paper.
Like a lot of people who are committed to affecting social change, once my dad, had set out on this path, there would be no turning back. It was all consuming, it would become his life’s work.
We need people like dad, like John Benson, like Alan Bates who make a stand for what is right and stick at it, whatever the cost. That’s the only way that meaningful change happens.
When I look back at my dad’s life, I think I can safely say, that he made the most of every minute and made every minute count for Wales.
I’ll miss you dad. Nos da
Tribute by Rhys
Dad was a man of his own patch. He took pride in being “Cairdiff born and Cairdiff bred,” and his accent and enthusiasm for the capital city was obvious to everyone. He had loads of stories about the people and places of his youth. Some of us here will never forget the long discussion Dad and Auntie Elizabeth had one Christmas Day about what colour a front door was on Albany Road in the 1940s. He was extremely proud of his parents and adored his sisters, as they adored their younger brother. With Auntie Elizabeth and Auntie Martha, he was always guaranteed a laugh, no matter how bad his joke was!
Dad was always a bit of a rebel. At the time, it was very unusual, if not unheard of, for a non-Welsh speaker with a broad Cardiff accent to join Plaid Cymru. He had incredible energy and passion. His drive must have come as a bit of a shock to some Plaid members in Cardiff at the time, but he had a clear vision that a better Wales was possible. Yet he knew that would require a lot of hard work. Dad never expected anyone to do any work that he wasn’t doing himself.
When Dad joined Plaid Cymru in the late 1950s, it was numerically the biggest party in Cardiff. However, due to my Dad’s efforts, the membership soon plummeted.
Yes, you heard me correctly. After finally receiving a list of the membership from the legendary Nans Jones, my father realised that it must be wrong, as activists and elected members from other parties were included. Once a Plaid member, always a Plaid member. At one address he visited, it turned out that a lodger had been the Plaid member, but he had moved away in the mid-1930s, over a quarter of a century earlier!
With the membership list now more realistic, the hard work of campaigning began. In those days, there was real hostility towards the Welsh language and Plaid Cymru in Cardiff.
There are many stories of Dad canvassing. Some, like his run-in with an angry monocle-wearing English gentleman, cannot be repeated from a chapel pulpit. Others, like when he accidentally smashed milk bottles and quickly covered his rosette to tell the angry resident he was calling on behalf of the Labour Party, are tamer.
Despite the lack of electoral success for decades, Dad was always positive. He would look for something encouraging even in the dullest elections. I remember during the 1997 election, Dad was thrilled that Ieuan Wyn Jones had increased his majority despite the wave of support for the Labour Party, and that Plaid Cymru had kept its hold in over half the constituencies. His inspiration to establish Clwb Ifor Bach came from wanting to offer hope to young people after the disappointment of the 1979 referendum and the election of Margaret Thatcher.
Welsh had long died out in the family by the time he set out to learn the language. To him, Welsh was a gift, and he taught it to adults for decades. When numbers were too low to sustain the Welsh class at Gladstone School, Dad and Penri Jones would cross the road to Cathays Cemetery to add names to the register!
He passionately believed that Welsh language was an integral part of life in Cardiff. The fact that so many place names in the capital are in Welsh inspired him to research and uncover the rich history of the language in Cardiff. He loved discovering old Welsh names, and many like Nant Lleucu and Heol Plwca are now used officially.
It’s hard to believe today that the policy of Glamorgan Council until the late 1960s was that at least one parent had to speak the language before a child could receive Welsh-medium education. Though he hadn’t yet mastered the language, Dad fought to ensure my brother John could receive Welsh-medium education. This policy change led to a tremendous growth in Welsh-medium education in the southeast. Today, over 70% of Cardiff’s Welsh-medium pupils come from non-Welsh-speaking homes.
He fought for decades against his employer, the county council, to expand Welsh-medium provision. It didn’t matter to him that this harmed his career. To Dad, Wales was far more important than any personal benefit. He was instrumental in establishing several schools, and his expertise in Cardiff’s history enabled him to suggest appropriate names.
Dad loved meeting former pupils from Court y Ala and Gladstone. Many would tell him how he changed their lives and awakened their sense of Welsh identity. When Dad died, so many of his former pupils got in touch and spoke about him on social media. Many described him as their favourite teacher. Many said that because of him, they now spoke Welsh, their children attended Welsh-medium schools, and that it was Dad who taught them to sing the National Anthem. We can never quantify the contribution of a good and inspiring teacher.
Despite retiring from the National Assembly back in 2007, it was incredible in the days following his death to be contacted by former constituents he had helped. People like Michael O’Brien, a victim of a grave miscarriage of justice, and John Benson and Phil Jones, tireless campaigners for Allied Steel & Wire workers and their families.
The day he died, Geraint Davies, the first Assembly Member for the Rhondda, phoned me. He told me of all the support Dad gave to his successful campaign in the Rhondda in 1999, despite this greatly diminishing Dad’s own chances of being elected. That was typical of Dad. Plaid Cymru and Wales always came before any personal gain.
The final years were difficult for him, but I never heard Dad complain about himself. Right to the end, his smile when we saw him remained the same, and the caring staff at Shire Hall saw beyond his illness and showed incredible kindness towards Dad and to us as a family.
Dad leaves behind 12 grandchildren. Despite his many contributions, this is his greatest contribution to his beloved nation.
Thanks to people like Dad, through their words and actions, we can sing today with renewed confidence:
“O bydded i’r hen iaith barhau.”
(“Oh may the old language endure.”)
Tribute by Dafydd Iwan (translated)
Thank you for the opportunity to say a few words about a very special man. I first met Owen John at a Plaid youth summer school in Llangollen sometime back in the mid-60s, when we were all young. And I was surprised and amazed by this young man from Cardiff who was so passionate, so fiercely passionate about Plaid and about Wales—and he didn’t speak Welsh! I had never met such a creature, I lived in Llanuwchlyn! And I was surprised and amazed by this young man for several days during that week.
I think I saw Owen John beginning to grasp the Welsh language, because I had a friend with me from Llanuwchlyn, with red hair, and someone had clearly told Owen John that the word we used for someone with red hair was “cochyn.” So, every time my friend entered the room, Owen John would shout “cochyn!” across the place. It was clear he enjoyed the sound of the word, and that he could say a Welsh word and people would respond. My friend was not pleased at all! Unfortunately, someone else taught Owen John during the week that there was another Welsh word that rhymed with “cochyn,” and Owen John was even more delighted that he now had two Welsh words, both rhyming, both with a wonderful sound. So every time my friend came in, he would say “cochyn mochyn!” (redhead pig!), and my friend was not pleased at all!
And I think that was the beginning of Owen John’s journey into the Welsh language. Because I met him over the years, over half a century, at conferences, committees, rallies and protests, canvassing, and of course, by then, Owen John had mastered the language, without losing any of his fire, without losing any of his enthusiasm. And every time you met Owen John, you were in the middle of some campaign, always. You couldn’t help but be amazed at such energy, such spirit, and such enduring enthusiasm.
As it happens, on the way here, I was buying guitar strings, having decided to keep going for another little year. And who was there, someone I had never met before, was the woman we just heard singing. And Stacey told me how Owen John had changed the course of her life and her family’s life, had supported her through her period of learning Welsh, had supported them as they moved to a Welsh-medium nursery and then to a Welsh-medium primary school, and Owen John was there throughout, supporting every campaign.
And then, of course, Clwb Ifor Bach. People were surprised that Owen John was one of the main founders of Clwb Ifor Bach. When something like that happens, something that leaves its mark on your culture, it lasts for years. Those of us who were in Cardiff during the 60s, it was almost a pain to meet Owen John because he was always bubbling over something. Bubbling over the idea of establishing this Welsh club. And you knew it was going to happen. Years of bubbling, campaigning, pushing, and fundraising, and in the end, the doors of Clwb Ifor Bach opened. I don’t know what Owen John thought of the place in the end, but it has been an incredibly important contribution, and it brought people in. And that, of course, is our shared dream, and of course, Owen John’s dream. To make Welsh a living language, and to bring Welsh to the heart of Cardiff.
He loved Cardiff. He was in love with Cardiff. Many of us had the experience of walking around some of Cardiff’s streets with Owen John, and he would say “here was… here was published…” He knew the history of Cardiff, and he tied the history of Cardiff with the history of the Welsh language and the history of Wales. To be honest, one of Owen John’s big arguments was that we are proud of Cardiff as a capital city because it was, essentially, originally, a Welsh-speaking city. And we all have these memories of a man who bubbled over with love for Wales, for the Welsh language, for its history, and someone who changed the life of Cardiff and Wales to a greater extent than most of us ever will.
It was a privilege to know Owen John, and sweet is the memory of him. Thank you for him.
Tribute by Lona Roberts
Now then. You who go door to door canvassing, face to face with someone standing before you, remember: you are offering them a treasure. A better future for Wales, and they are part of it!” That was Owen John. In Plasnewydd, down here. Full of spirit, passion and mischief. As a young man, he was electrified. That spark had taken hold of him. And he had accepted it as an inseparable part of his life.
Let me try to describe what it was like in Plaid Cymru at the beginning of the 1950s. I am the youngest daughter of the Gwyn Daniel family. Another one, like Owen John, who was captured by the ideal of Wales as it could be. My father was a schoolteacher during the day, but in the evenings he would network to get the bricks in the wall. To get him back home at a reasonable hour, my mother insisted on taking me with him. As a child, I was left with him in the Plaid Cymru office on Queen Street. A time when cars and buses flowed busily up and down that street. The entrance was beside a shop, and then you had to climb narrow, steep stairs to reach the first floor. Another steep staircase to reach the second floor, and more stairs to reach the third floor at the top of the building. And there, there was a large room with two offices. At the desks were older women in coats and little hats, and men in ties and suits, and I was allowed to sit with them… stuffing envelopes, waiting for my father. Kind and dear people, salt of the earth. Among them were the brother and sister of Mrs Gruffydd John Williams, wife of the famous teacher, and her brother, Megan’s father, and Emrys Roberts.
Now I don’t know how many of you here this afternoon had the experience of hearing Owen John describe his first visit to that office. Arriving full of excitement, with two or three friends, offering himself to win over the new Welsh. Climbing one set of stairs, climbing the second set of stairs, then the third, and opening the door. I was in stitches listening to him describe the experience of opening that door. But Owen John wasn’t discouraged, he kept going. He later connected with Tŷ’r Cymru on Gordon Road, and again received the experience of being part of a group of people much older than him, but all focused on improving Wales’s future.
I lived and breathed that place as a child, among the old furniture of generous homes. I remember well the welcome given to a sofa that arrived from his home through the kindness of Mrs Dewi Watkin Powell. The Bible speaks of the prophet Elisha grasping the mantle of Elijah the prophet, as he was taken to heaven. Owen John grasped the mantle of Iorwerth Morgan, who had been a great benefactor to the team, and Owen John worked diligently there to secure a future for the house. Thank you, Owen John, and thank you too, to his family.
Rhys has asked me to read one of the parables of the Lord Jesus. Here is the Parable of the Mustard Seed. This parable appears in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Here it is as it appears in the Gospel according to Matthew:
“The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which someone took and sowed in a field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown, it is the greatest of all shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.”
And that’s it, without any explanation. A glorious example of how Jesus taught, a wonderful example of his confidence in the success of his mission. Owen John is now free from that cruel illness that bound him for so long, and he is now among our cloud of glorious witnesses. He is in the lineage of those who planted seeds and nurtured the garden in all weathers. Confident that there would be a harvest, and that harvest under the blessing of the Almighty. He had the privilege of seeing his work bear fruit, and rejoicing in that.
“Since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses,” says the letter to the Hebrews, “let us run the race set before us without faltering, keeping our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith.”
And now here are parts of the holy word to comfort and encourage us:
The psalmist says, “My soul, bless the Lord, and all that is within me, bless his holy name. He is the one who forgives all my sins, heals all my diseases, crowns me with love and mercy. God is our refuge and strength, a ready help in trouble. The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life, whom shall I dread?”
And the Lord Jesus says, “Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. I am gentle and humble in heart. I leave you peace. My own peace. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, and do not be afraid. In the world you will have tribulation, but take heart. I have overcome the world.”
And from the work of the apostle Paul: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? I am fully convinced that neither death nor life, nor present nor future, nor powers, nor anything else created shall separate us from in Christ Jesus our Lord. Death has been swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear friends, be steadfast and immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labour in the Lord is not in vain.
Let praise be to his name,
Amen.
PLAID CYMRU HISTORY SOCIETY
WREXHAM NATIONAL EISTEDDFOD – SOCIETIES TENT
12.30pm, THURSDAY 7 AUGUST 2025
Translation of Lecture by Ieuan Wyn Jones
‘Tom Ellis was the greatest, truest patriot amongst the Members of Parliament during the “Cymru Fydd” period, at the end of the [nineteenth] century. Unfortunately, he accepted a position in his English party, and died shortly afterwards, a year before the turn of that century. He remained a hero in the county though, in our area at least, and his old house was not far from Felin-y-Wig. A large picture of him stood above our fireside mantelpiece at home in the Foty Fawr, and beneath it his words: “Self-government is the inspiration and aim of a nation”. His stance on behalf of Wales remained in our area’s memory and was passed on to us children.’
Excerpt from ‘Tros Gymru’ (1970), p. 21, by J.E. Jones (Plaid Cymru’s General Secretary, 1930-1962).
I begin this lecture with a quote from J.E. Jones’s book because it summarises the thoughts and feelings of some of the early leaders of Plaid Cymru, in the way that it considers the establishment of the Cymru Fydd movement in 1886 as the precursor to the party’s creation, and in their learning the obvious lessons from the failure of that movement. By far the most important lesson was that the principal failing of the nationalists of the Cymru Fydd movement – its attachment to the English and British Liberal Party – was to try to act from within that Liberal party. By 1925 the establishment of a Welsh National Party, that was completely independent of any other party, was a must. Griffith John Williams said in 1935: ‘It was essential to establish a Welsh Political Party’. Indeed, all its members had to sign a pledge to sever any links with other political parties in England and Wales.
But I’m running a little ahead of myself now. The story does not begin in 1886. We must go back to 1847. In many ways it is a critical year in our history as a nation, as that year a Report on the State of Education in Wales was published which soon became known as ‘The Betrayal of the Blue Books’. The intention of the British establishment in setting up the Commission which led to the Report was to try to make the Welsh more loyal to the state. The fact that the majority of Welsh people spoke Welsh and went to chapel led them to be a rebellious nation, with their protesting during the Chartist period and the Rebecca riots clear evidence of that. It was necessary to teach English to their children, to attract them back to the Established (Anglican) Church and thereby ensure a certain submission to their masters.
Reading parts of the Commissioners’ Report today clearly shows not only their lack of understanding of the Welsh nation, but also their arrogant, patronising attitudes towards Welsh speakers and their attachment to Nonconformity. The state of education in Wales was extremely poor, and the lack of teachers’ qualifications was to account for that. The standard of education for the common people in England was not much better, but of course the narrative that the Commissioners insisted upon meant that things were so bad in Wales due to a lack of English language skills. One example among many that populate the Report is the description of the teacher at Llandderfel British School. He understood English fairly well they said, but he spoke ‘with a Welsh idiom and not always grammatically!’.
The desire to teach English to the Welsh, and that at the expense of Welsh, ran side by side with the desire to bring them all back to the Anglican Church’s fold. But the way the Commissioners went about disparaging Nonconformity represented a stain on Welsh morals. Their position can be summed up by saying that for them the chapels were a den of immorality, and their ‘seiat’ meetings a place for women and men to court one another! The response of religious leaders, the only leaders the Welsh had at that time, was unanimous and vehement against the attack on their chapels. However, the response of many of them to the attack on the Welsh language was mixed and sometimes lukewarm.
We must remember the strength of the nonconformist chapels’ influence on the Welsh population. In the first half of the 19th century the leaders of the religious denominations were the natural leaders of the nation. Very few of the noble families, the big landowners and the like had any attachment to Welshness, the Welsh language or to Welsh identity. And up to 1840 relatively few of the religious leaders either were willing to dabble in politics – they were Tories and royalists. And then came the Betrayal of the Blue Books; and Lewis Edwards, Principal of the Calvinistic Methodist College in Bala, saying in 1848 that it was necessary to send ‘Principled Nonconformists to Parliament in every county and every borough throughout Wales.’
Many of the nonconformist political radicals came from among the Independent (i.e. Congregationalist) denomination, rather than from the Methodists. Gwilym Hiraethog for example left the Methodists and joined the Independents and his political radicalism can be seen at its most raw in Yr Amserau, the Welsh newspaper founded in Liverpool in 1846. The foundations of Yr Amserau were quite shaky at the outset, like many Welsh papers of the time. But when Hiraethog began to publish articles in a colloquial style under the title ‘Letters from the Old Farmer’ an audience of new readers was attracted. In these articles and in editorials he railed against the oppression meted out by landlords and began to support patriotic movements abroad. The two main figures who attracted his attention and support were Lajos Kossouth from Hungary and Giuseppe Mazzini from Italy.
Following the Hungarian Revolution in 1848 Kossouth was the country’s President for a short period, but the revolution was ultimately a failure and from then on he was a refugee who spent some time in Britain. Hiraethog praised him for his courage and his understanding of ‘the principles of true national freedom…’. Hungarians visited Hiraethog to thank him for his support. Kossouth came to Liverpool in 1851 and addressed a public meeting. Although there is no direct evidence that Hiraethog and Kossouth ever met, it is highly likely that it did happen during that visit.
And then we come to Hiraethog’s support for Mazzini, the nationalist who fought for the unification of Italy as a state. Mazzini also came to England as an exile and refugee on occasion, seeking the support of political radicals for his cause. One issue that attracted Hiraethog to Mazzini was his attack on Catholicism, something that pleased the radical Nonconformist no end! In correspondence between Hiraethog and Mazzini in 1861, Mazzini thanked the Welsh for their support and encouraged them to petition Parliament in order to put pressure on France to recall its troops from Italy. Hiraethog supported the fight of the Italians for their rights and independence, and there is concrete evidence that Hiraethog and Mazzini met a number of times in Liverpool.
Considering Hiraethog’s strong support for Kossouth and Mazzini in their efforts to secure independence for their countries, you would expect him to be equally as enthusiastic about similar rights for Wales. We can say with certainty that his support for the Welsh language was extremely strong, and he argued in favour of appointing judges who could speak Welsh to the courts in Wales. But there is no record whatsoever that he supported political freedom. And indeed he had little sympathy with the struggle of the Irish for self-government. Their attachment to Catholicism was an obstacle for him: in this respect he showed significant inconsistency though, as Kossouth was a Catholic!
Moving on from Hiraethog, it can be argued that the first person to support political rights for Wales in this period was Thomas Davis the Irishman of Welsh descent, in his book ‘Literary and Historical Essays’ published in 1846. He argued in favour of ‘a local senate’ in a federal form, as found in the American states. We have to wait for Michael D. Jones, Emrys ap Iwan, and later Tom Ellis, to raise the flag and emphasise political freedom alongside the fight for the Welsh language.
There was quite a debate between Michael D. Jones and Emrys ap Iwan about which of them was the first to advocate political rights. In a letter published in Y Genhinen in April 1892, at the time of that year’s general election, Emrys is adamant that it was he who first coined the term ‘ymreolaeth’ – autonomy – and furthermore he ‘was the first in Wales to argue for what the word means’. He can claim ownership of the word ‘ymreolaeth’, but what about his claim that he was the first to argue the case?
In his article on Religion, Nationalism and the State in Wales between 1840 and 1890, R. Tudur Jones says that Michael D. Jones was the father of modern political nationalism in Wales. Michael D. saw that there was a connection between national identity and political power. Although most of the nation’s religious leaders were quite happy that Wales was part of Britain, Michael D. argued that Wales was a minority cultural group in Britain, and English as the language of the majority a dominant language. In order for it to survive, the Welsh language would have to secure official status in the spheres of politics, education and the law. Once that happened, the result would be self-government rather than independence. Indeed there is very little, if any, reference to independence as the main goal of Welsh nationalists in the 19th century. The culmination of Michael D.’s argument was that Wales, like Ireland and India, should be considered colonies. He was the first in his time to see the need for Wales to manage its natural resources, water and minerals and use them for the nation’s benefit. That would create work and slow down the increasing migration of people from Wales to England and abroad. 19th century transport patterns tied Wales increasingly to England and through that was seen, in the words of Prys Morgan, ‘a system of economic inequality, emphasising to the Welsh that their economy was an inferior one, and mainly serving the needs of English Capitalism.’
By the 1870s a growth in Imperialist sentiment was seen in Wales, which coincided with rapid expansion in the number of British colonies and the state’s supposed prestige on the international stage. In this regard, Michael D. was rowing against the tide. He did not see any connection between imperialism and recognition of the rights of nations. He had a deep distrust of the British political establishment, stating that its intention was to eliminate the Welsh nation completely. Nevertheless he was aware of the meekness of many Welsh people as the relationship between Wales and England was so unequal, which in turn led to examples of quasi-paying homage.
The only other prominent figure who agreed with Michael D.’s minority position was Emrys ap Iwan. Emrys was a member of the Calvinistic Methodists, rather than an Independent like Hiraethog and Michael D. And when Emrys claimed that he was the first to campaign for self-government, Michael D. sent him a letter suggesting very subtly that he had influenced – possibly without his knowledge – his nationalistic beliefs!
Defence of the Welsh language was at the heart of Michael D. and Emrys’s nationalism. The easiest way for the state to assimilate the Welsh into one British nation was to eliminate the Welsh language. That, after all, was at the heart of the Betrayal of the Blue Books and the basis of the education laws that required English to be the only medium of education in schools. Aberystwyth University was founded in 1872, yet the Welsh language was not on the curriculum in its early years, and the Principal T. Charles Edwards was a member of Aberystwyth’s English chapel. This underlined the attitude of many of the leading members of religious denominations at the time, some of whom believed the Welsh language was likely to die out eventually. In this period therefore Emrys and Michael D. were very rare examples of people arguing in favour of fighting to keep the Welsh language, teaching it in schools, and making it the official language in courts. When Emrys appeared as a witness in a court case in 1889, he refused to give his evidence in English and insisted on speaking Welsh. There was turmoil in the court, and although the magistrates demanded that he give his evidence in English, he refused to do so. The case was adjourned and when the court reconvened there was a translator there. But since the defendant had admitted his guilt, Emrys’s testimony was not needed after all. Despite this, his stance received considerable attention in the Welsh press and Y Faner in particular was supportive of him.
Until 1886 then, these two voices were pretty much alone in their stance. And no elected politician was arguing in favour of national rights, either. Despite all that Henry Richard, the Apostle of Peace, did for Wales after being elected to represent Merthyr in 1868, he did not espouse self-government. And while a new set of Welsh Members of Parliament was elected in 1886, only one of them set out self-government as one of the main objectives in his leaflets. That was Tom Ellis, who was elected at the age of 27 to represent Meirionnydd. In his electoral address, he identified 5 areas that he would campaign for:
Throughout his time as a Member of Parliament he saw three subjects – disestablishment, improving the education system, and land reform – not as individual measures, but as part of the fight for Welsh identity. Where did all this come from? He was at Aberystwyth University between 1875 and 1879. Not from there for sure, as the Principal persuaded him to join the English chapel in the town, and the main matters covered at the University’s debating society were British ones. He went to Oxford in 1879, and in his early days there he had little sympathy with the nationalist cause in Ireland. But little by little, over a period of four years, his attitudes became more radical and nationalistic.
There are many reasons for this, but let us concentrate on the fact that the ideas of Thomas Davis the Irishman and Mazzini came to his attention. As we saw earlier, Thomas Davis argued in favour of autonomy for Wales in 1846, despite being a voice in the wilderness at that time. Tom Ellis said in 1890, ‘Thomas Davis and Mazzini were my two political and nationalist teachers’.
So who was Thomas Davis? He was not one of the leading figures among the Irish national movement. Davis was rather a writer and poet, and one of the first editors of ‘The Nation’, paper of the ‘Young Ireland’ movement. ‘Young Italy’ was founded by Mazzini and his friends for Italian nationalists, and similar movements were established all over Europe. The English name for Cymru Fydd was in fact ‘Young Wales’. Davis wrote nationalist poetry, such as ‘A Nation Once Again’. He was a Protestant arguing that Protestants and Catholics should be taught together, and was in favour of Irish as the national language. His father was a Welsh doctor. He was known as a cultural nationalist, campaigning for self-government and arguing for a devolved Parliament in Dublin. It is easy to see how Davis would appeal to the young Tom Ellis, as there are romantic and cultural as well as intellectual elements to his nationalism.
Another person the young Tom Ellis encountered was the Irishman Michael Davitt. Davitt was a radical campaigner particularly on the subject of land, and was one of the founders of the Irish Land League. He was imprisoned in 1870 after being found guilty of illegal gun running. After his release he became a popular public speaker, arguing in favour of nationalising land in Ireland. Although he was a controversial figure at the time, a series of public meetings were organised for him in north Wales during the first half of 1886. Their organiser was Michael D. Jones, and a meeting was held in Blaenau Ffestiniog on 12 February. Tom Ellis welcomed the meeting in Blaenau Ffestiniog in an article in the South Wales Daily News. 3,000 listened to Davitt speak in Blaenau, where he declared that the Welsh should elect MPs who intended working together with the Irish nationalists led by Parnell, in order to reform land laws in Wales.
Davitt and Tom Ellis corresponded, both supporting greater co-operation between nationalists in Ireland and Wales. This is when Tom Ellis published a further article in the South Wales Daily News arguing in favour of self-government. ‘If Ireland secures self-government, isn’t it about time that Wales got the power to manage its own affairs?’ He supported the methods of the nationalists led by Parnell to secure their rights.
And as we have seen, Tom Ellis was the first candidate in a parliamentary election to include self-government as part of his electoral address, in 1886. But he was a very lonely voice when he was elected to Westminster that year. It was necessary to try to spread support more widely and as a result the Cymru Fydd movement was also established in 1886, and that in London. Its founders were Tom Ellis, the historian John Edward Lloyd, O.M. Edwards, Llewelyn Williams and others.
Its main aim was making the case for self-government. But there were also cultural aspects to the movement, and that was O.M. Edwards’s main interest in reality. It was a movement based outside Wales during those early years: its first branch was in London, and the second one was established in Liverpool. It was only in 1891, in Barry, that the first branch in Wales was set up, and more were then established in other parts of Wales, especially in areas where the Liberals’ party machinery was strong and where the secessionists amongst them were supportive. The first edition of the organisation’s magazine, also called Cymru Fydd, was published in 1888. Its editor was Thomas John Hughes or ‘Adfyfyr’, and he wrote the first editorial in January 1888, describing the magazine as ‘nationalist’. Initially it contained articles on the Welsh Liberals’ programme, land issues, disestablishment of the church, and improving the education system in Wales. The movement tended to stick closely to cultural and educational objectives until Tom Ellis and Lloyd George, who was elected following a Parliamentary by-election in 1890, gave it a political spin.
Between 1886 and September 1890, Tom Ellis was the main leader, arguing in favour of self-government, writing articles, delivering speeches and trying to pressurise his fellow Liberal members to follow his lead. But he faced very stony ground and was a lone voice amongst Welsh MPs. The older radical Welsh Members of Parliament, people like Henry Richard and G. Osborne Morgan, were quite content to argue the case for Disestablishment and land law reform, but were not happy to plead the case for self-government.
Tom Ellis decided he had to raise the tempo and try to prick the consciences of his fellow MPs. He went on a trip to Egypt in early 1890 where he succumbed to a period of serious illness. He was there for several months in an attempt to restore his health. In Luxor on St. David’s Day he set out in his diary the clearest sign yet of his political manifesto. Yes, it would be necessary to fight for disestablishment, a better education system and land reform. But in order to secure the nation’s unity, Wales would need its own Parliament, University and Temple.
At the end of the diary entry, at the age of 31 and aware that his health was precarious, he stated:
This is my vow today – to work until death to win Unity for Wales in the fullest sense of the word. May God give me strength to be faithful to this vow.
His quote from two stanzas of a poem by the romantic poet Shelley is an interesting one. ‘The Masque of Anarchy’ is considered to be the best political poem in the English language and was written in response to the Peterloo massacre in 1819. Two themes in Tom Ellis’ vision were ‘freedom’ and ‘unity’, and these can be seen weaving throughout Shelley’s work. When he refers to ‘Let the laws of your own land’ he recognises the right of every nation to have its own legal system, based on national sovereignty.
After Tom Ellis arrived home, and his friends in Meirionnydd realised how fragile his health was and that he was probably short of money, a testimonial was launched for him. A substantial sum of money, £1,075 (worth around £150,000 today) was raised and presented to him at a special meeting in Bala in September 1890.
In response to the presentation he delivered what his son T.I. Ellis called a ‘confession of faith’ (Cofiant II, p. 108). This was the most important and significant speech of his career as a politician. He realised that establishing a group of the Welsh Parliamentary Party in 1888 among some Members from Wales, under Henry Richard’s chairmanship, was unlikely to achieve much as there was no unity of opinion amongst them on the national question. The main themes of his speech were:
No-one else among the Members of Parliament from Wales during the 19th century had defined so clearly what were the nationalist aspirations of this new set of leaders. Indeed, neither Michael D. nor Emrys ap Iwan had described nationalist aims so succinctly.
Tom Ellis therefore set out his stall, challenging others to follow him. ‘This is where I stand, who will come with me?’.
He wasn’t expecting cheers of approval for his call, though. He said at the end of his speech: ‘This is not the ambition of all of us’.
However, a few were willing to respond to the call. One of them was Alfred Thomas, Member of Parliament for East Glamorganshire. In this period he was close to Tom Ellis and had responded enthusiastically to the speech in Bala. He proceeded, with the support of Tom Ellis, to introduce a bill in the House of Commons on 15 June 1891, the National Institutions (Wales) Bill, with the intention of establishing a Wales Office, a University of Wales, a National Museum and a National Council (Parliament). It was tabled for a first reading but got no further. It was presented a second time in February 1892 and suffered the same fate.
There were more attempts between 1892 and 1896 to rekindle the enthusiasm of Cymru Fydd, this time under the leadership of Lloyd George: the years 1894 to 1896 are the most important in this. By that time, several branches of Cymru Fydd had been established in Wales. In that period numerous efforts were made to unite the Cymru Fydd alliance with the North Wales Liberal Federation in order to obtain commonality in the debate in favour of self-government. Lloyd George and Thomas Gee drove that bid for unity, as Tom Ellis had taken a job in Gladstone’s government. The next step was to try to unite the Federation in the south and the north of Wales. There were several attempts, and a decision was made to merge them in January 1895. But not everyone was happy about the merger, and its main opponent was David Alfred Thomas, MP for Merthyr. He oscillated between supporting the aims of Cymru Fydd and opposing them, but in the end he cast his lot with the hostile faction. Although some individuals were therefore willing to join in the call for a Parliament for Wales such as Alfred Thomas, David Randell MP for Gower, Herbert Lewis MP for Flint Boroughs, and David Lloyd George, they were actually quite isolated voices.
An attempt was made to re-organise the campaign in mid-1895 by appointing Alfred Thomas MP as Chairman of the Welsh (National) Liberal Federation and Beriah Gwynfe Evans as its Secretary. However, the attachment of many south Wales representatives to the idea of a united Federation was fragile and it all ended at a meeting held in Newport in January 1896, where the representatives rejected all attempts by Lloyd George to ensure the unity of the National Federation. Robert Bird, president of the Cardiff Liberals – and the owner of a coal tar distilling company – said that south Wales Liberals would not give in to Welsh ideas!
Some historians, perhaps a little superficially, come to the simple conclusion that a rift between Welsh-speaking rural Liberals and English-speaking urban and civic Liberals was the main reason for Cymru Fydd’s failure. But as John Davies argues in A History of Wales, there is more to it than that. Yes, there was a conflict between the rural and urban, but also between the radicalism, bordering on socialism, of Tom Ellis and the young Lloyd George and the conservatism of the Liberal leaders in the cities of south Wales. Assimilation between the northern radicals and budding socialists in south Wales would have been a much easier dovetailing exercise. In the end, the attachment of Lloyd George and others to the Liberal Party was strong, and the roots of Cymru Fydd’s ideas were neither deep enough nor broad enough to attract the Liberal Party to that fold en masse. Although Cymru Fydd dragged on for a year or two following the Newport fiasco, to all intents and purposes it was all over.
Although the efforts of Cymru Fydd’s leaders failed, it must be acknowledged that until 1886 nobody at a parliamentary level had been brave enough to raise the cause of Wales in this way. Tom Ellis was seen as the intellectual leader of the movement, and Lloyd George later as its campaign leader. It must also be remembered that the Liberal Party was in opposition when Tom Ellis was first elected, and indeed it was so for the greater part of his parliamentary career. Some historians argue that that party reached its peak early in 1886, and after it lost the election that year things were never quite the same. The party got a form of second wind at the beginning of the twentieth century, but after Lloyd George stepped down from being Prime Minister in 1922 it was thereafter in the political wilderness.
To what extent, however, was the Cymru Fydd movement a bridge that led to the establishment of Plaid Cymru in 1925 – and which led to securing an Assembly in 1997 and a Senedd in 2011? And why was there such a gap between 1896 and 1925?
Looking hastily at the 30 years, more or less, between the last fiery meeting of Cymru Fydd and the founding of Plaid Cymru, a few points deserve attention. One thing that is worth noting is the Act to disestablish the Anglican Church and create the Church in Wales in 1920. It took over 70 years for that campaign to reach its climax, which shows how difficult it was to secure any substantive change through Parliament in Westminster. Of all the campaigns of Cymru Fydd’s generation, disestablishing the church and creating the University of Wales are the only two that succeeded, though certain improvements in the education system were achieved, as well as the establishment of a Welsh Department within the Board of Education in 1907 and the Welsh Health Board in 1919. O.M. Edwards was appointed Chief Inspector of Schools in Wales where he fought to ensure the teaching of Welsh language in schools. However, English was the medium of education in those schools, especially secondary schools. In this period, some national institutions were also established, such as the National Library and the National Museum.
Two names worth noting in that 30-year period are E.T. John, MP for East Denbighshire between 1910 and 1918, and J. Arthur Price. John was a keen nationalist who introduced a self-government bill in Parliament in March 1914, a bill which did not go very far. John refused to join Plaid Cymru in 1925, remaining loyal to the Labour Party after having left the Liberal Party in 1918. Despite this, J. E. Jones claims that he turned to Plaid ‘in his later years’.
It should be noted that three conferences on autonomy were held in 1918, 1919 and 1922 but little came of them. A Speaker’s Conference was held on devolution in 1919 but there was little agreement on the way forward, with the Speaker supporting the establishment of Higher Councils only for Wales, Scotland and England. In 1922, a bill was introduced to establish a Legislative Parliament for Wales by Robert Thomas, MP for Wrexham, but his efforts were unsuccessful. By the way, Robert Thomas was later the MP for Anglesey.
And that brings us to the founding of the National Party of Wales in August 1925, one hundred years ago to this very month. Since the successes of Cymru Fydd were relatively small, though not completely insignificant, and the attempts to argue in favour of Welsh causes in the Westminster Parliament were generally a failure, the new party rejected engaging with British politics. Although some, including J.E Jones, saw Cymru Fydd as a preparatory movement, others saw the need to distance themselves from the failures of that movement.
Saunders Lewis intended to show such distance by arguing that all links with British political parties should be severed. In Saunders’s opinion, nothing would come to Wales through the English Parliament. Lewis Valentine said ‘Some insist that the new party is synonymous with the old Liberal Party in a new form. But it cannot be denied more strongly than to say that there is absolutely no connection between it and the old parties’. D. J. Williams believed the new party should not express views on discussions in Westminster, saying ‘I am of the opinion that the Party should not interfere at all in the affairs of the English Parliament’. And as I have already mentioned, Griffith John Williams said ‘It was essential to establish a Welsh Political Party’. The early ‘Sinn Fein-ist’ position of the new Party therefore was that a seat in Westminster should not be taken, should they win an election.
However, as elements of realpolitik penetrated the Party’s consciousness after the 1929 election – when Lewis Valentine’s candidacy attracted 609 votes – the policy of isolation began to loosen its grip and party members insisted that it would be necessary to go to Westminster and accept that Parliament as a platform to debate the Welsh cause. And more mixed feelings towards Cymru Fydd’s efforts started to appear. Lewis Valentine originally dismissed the efforts of people like Tom Ellis in the early days of Plaid Cymru, and that quite deliberately. A real distance had to be created in order to justify the argument in favour of establishing a new political party, and that’s what we would have done too I feel sure. But as things settled, the views of some of the early members changed. Lewis Valentine reviewed a booklet published by Plaid Cymru in 1956, namely Triwyr Penllyn. The booklet contained three chapters on the contributions of Michael D. Jones, O. M. Edwards and Tom Ellis to Welsh life. The authors were Gwenallt, Saunders Lewis and Gwenan Jones. Gwenan Jones by the way was the first woman to stand in a general election on behalf of Plaid Cymru. Lewis Valentine says about the book that it is one ‘to put a bit of iron in the blood and a bit of steel in our spine’ in the fight against the drowning of Capel Celyn.
When Gwynfor Evans was chosen as Plaid Cymru’s candidate in Meirionnydd at the 1945 election, he saw himself in the lineage of Michael D Jones, R.J. Derfel and Tom Ellis. Y Dydd, a weekly paper in the Dolgellau area, made a comparison between Tom Ellis and Gwynfor, describing them as ‘Two young men with a gentle and loving spirit but nevertheless strong.’ Llwyd o’r Bryn compared Gwynfor’s stance on Capel Celyn as being like Tom Ellis’s for the ‘martyrs’ of the Tithe War. But to give a measured view of Gwynfor’s own opinion about Tom Ellis, he says in ‘Aros Mae’:
This (his decision to take up a post in Gladstone’s government) was the single act that did most to stop the development of an independent Welsh party, and therefore hinder the movement for self-government.
He then said:
It is easy to blame Tom Ellis now, but we must remember that Welsh nationalism was only young at the time, and that it was reasonable for him to believe that great gains could be made for Wales through working within the system.
So what do we now claim was the connection between the Cymru Fydd movement and the founding of Plaid Cymru at that meeting in Pwllheli on 5 August 1925, a hundred years ago this week? Considering the words of those who were at Pwllheli in 1925, very little. Their intention, at that time, was to create as much of a gap as possible between themselves and the leaders of Cymru Fydd. Otherwise, how could they justify establishing an independent Welsh party and the original policy of refusing to do anything with the Westminster Parliament? As far as I can see, Saunders Lewis did not change his opinion about Cymru Fydd at all in his lifetime.
But as things developed, and Plaid Cymru became a constitutional political party, the position began to change. If we take the words of J. E Jones, Lewis Valentine in 1956 and Gwynfor himself, they accepted that the establishment of Cymru Fydd in 1886, the first movement in centuries to argue for self-government for Wales, for creating Welsh institutions and increasing national awareness among the Welsh, had created the circumstances in which a Welsh party could then be established in the twentieth century. Given that Cymru Fydd’s hold on the nation was a fragile one, and that a relatively small number of Liberal Members of Parliament actually supported it – no more than about 5 at most – it was no wonder it failed.
But at least the discussion had started, and learning the lessons of Cymru Fydd’s failure was one of Plaid Cymru’s main objectives. It was a party with its loyalty to Wales and no connection to British parties. Although its growth was gradual, what is remarkable about it is that it has maintained its existence for a century and is now, according to some opinion polls, within reach of heading the Welsh Government for the first time.
Would Plaid Cymru have been established in 1925 if Cymru Fydd had not started the discussion? An impossible question to answer of course. All I wish to say is that the ideology and influence of Cymru Fydd helped crystallise the early philosophy of Plaid Cymru, and created the space for a new party to develop. And the failure of Cymru Fydd gave it the proof that the only way forward was establishing a fully independent party.
The National Library of Wales holds Plaid Cymru’s substantial archive, which, along with a large number of the party’s publications are available for researchers to study. To mark the centenary of the founding of the party as Plaid Genedlaethol Cymru in 1925 a selection of Plaid Cymru’s manifestos, publications and items from the archive has been digitised in order to create a timeline showing the main highlights of the party’s history.
Link > Archive
“Dros Gymru’n Gwlad – Hanes Sefydlu Plaid Cymru”.
On 17 July 2025 the authors Arwel Vittle and Gwen Gruffudd came to the Pierhead Building to discuss with Karl Davies their new book about the establishment of the National Party of Wales. The event was sponsored by Mabon ap Gwynfor AS and organised by Plaid Cymru History Society.
Here is an opportunity to listen to this very interesting discussion about the start of Plaid Cymru in the period leading up to 1925.
Thank you to Senedd Cymru for providing the record.
Saturday, 21 June, 2025 a Rally was held in Pwllheli to celebrate 100 years since Plaid Cymru was formed.
Address by Kiera Marshall at the Pwllheli Rally 21 June 2025:-
It is truly an honour to be here today – to celebrate 100 years of Plaid Cymru. A century of standing up for Wales.
For our language,
For our communities,
and for our future.
Our party was founded on two simple but powerful principles that remain at our core today.
The first: Wales should govern itself. Home rule or self-determination. The belief that decisions about Wales should be made in Wales, by the people of Wales. A belief that other parties still, after all this time, still struggle to understand.
The second principle is our language. Cymraeg. The right to live in our in language. And this is deeply personal for me. As someone still learning Cymraeg, it is a particular honour to say this clearly: That the role of Plaid Cymru in the fight for the Welsh language over the last 100 years cannot be overstated.
Pwllheli and this part of Wales hold special significance for me. Usually I’m here when I’m visiting Nant Gwrtheyrn, learning the language that should have been mine from the start. The last time I was there, my tutor was one of Lewis Valentine’s great-grandchildren. A reminder of how history lives on in the everyday and how our work today builds on the foundations laid a century ago. While we have come so far, there is still much work to do.
I went through the entire Welsh education system and left unable to speak Cymraeg. That isn’t just my story but the story of a system that is still failing our young people.
Our Senedd, though powerful in principle, is still limited in practice. It’s only as old as I am. Our democracy is young and there are people who want to see it weakend and even undone. And still, we are denied the right to shape our own future, with no control over so many vital areas that shape our daily life in Wales.
But our future is bright as we look ahead to the 2026 Senedd elections. Today is a moment to reflect on a century of Plaid Cymru’s achievements, the political force we’ve become, and the future we’re ready to shape.
From S4C, to the Welsh Language Act, to the establishment of our National Assembly, now Parliament… We have led the way, We have built the foundations, And we have been the engine of Welsh nation-building.
Year after year, campaign after campaign, election after election, We have grown, we have fought, and we have delivered.
As we look back, I want to shine a light on those whose work can be often overlooked: the women who helped build this movement.
Tomorrow, I hope to visit Cae’r Gors, the childhood home of Kate Roberts. Kate was one of the early pillars of Plaid Cymru. She became the first chair of our women’s section that lives on in women I’m honoured to know and she edited the women’s page of Y Ddraig Goch. She gave voice to those who were too often unheard.
I’ve also recently learned of Elizabeth Williams. It was her home in Penarth where a new Welsh Movement was formed in 1924. She documented its growth until it merged into what would become Plaid Cymru here in Pwllheli in 1925. When she died, she left her home in Gwaelod y Garth to the party.
And now today, I stand as a Plaid Cymru candidate for Caerdydd Penarth, the very constituency that stretches from Elizabeth’s home in Penarth to her home in Gwaelod y Garth.
Her legacy lives on in our fight today.
And that fight led to another woman who shaped our movement, Leanne Wood, our first female leader. Leanne broke down barriers and took our message further than before. It was her leadership that carried the story born here in Pwllheli all the way to the very top of Townhill in Swansea. To my mum, and to me. And now, I’m proud to be standing on the shoulders of giants, of all of those who shaped our party over the last century, as a candidate for Plaid Cymru in next year’s Senedd elections.
And I do so with hope. Not just for next year’s election, but for the next generation. I’m currently expecting my first child. And I feel hopeful about raising her in a Wales that is fairer and more ambitious for the people who live here. A Wales that governs itself, with confidence.
This national milestone for Plaid Cymru is also a turning point for us in Cardiff.
Last year, I stood in Cardiff West in the General Election. With an amazing team of activists, we achieved the best result Plaid Cymru has ever had in a General election in Cardiff – and the second highest vote share increase towards Plaid Cymru nationally. Nearly 10,000 people in Cardiff West sent a clear message: Enough. Wales deserves better.
And this was in the very seat home to multiple Labour First Ministers. A party so out of touch, they couldn’t even find a candidate who lived in Wales, let alone Cardiff, to represent us. Labour has run Wales for over 25 years. And what do we have to show for it? Rising child poverty, Deepening inequality and a stagnating economy.
I think of communities like Ely, Riverside, and Butetown, in my constituency, on the doorstep of the Senedd, that have been left behind. Our politics can no longer fail those who need it most, it doesn’t have to be this way.
Next year, we have a real chance to elect a pro-Wales Government, led by Rhun. A government that will put the people before party.
A government that believes in our language, our communities, and our power to choose our own future.
As we have shown, time and time again over the past 100 years.
Plaid Cymru has always been the party of change.
As we enter our second century, we will do what our founders did 100 years ago, and be bold and deliver on a fairer, brighter future for Wales.
For the Wales, we all know is possible.
Diolch yn fawr.
“Dros Gymru’n Gwlad – Hanes Sefydlu Plaid Cymru”.
Pierhead Building, Cardiff Bay. 17 July 2025 6.30pm – 9pm
Link For tickets > Linc
Come to hear Arwel Vittle and Gwen Gruffudd discussing their new book with Karl Davies in an event sponsored by Mabon ap Gwynfor MS and organised by Plaid Cymru History Society, with an opportunity to buy the book signed by them. There is no entrance fee but you must reserve a place beforehand through Eventbrite . Proceedings will be in Welsh and simultaneous translation will be available.
The Coppieters Foundation in cooperation with Fundació Josep Irla has published the fourth issue of Political Lives devoted to Saunders Lewis (1893–1985).
Link to order the issue > Linc
Lewis was a prominent Welsh politician, writer, academic, and activist whose life and work significantly shaped Welsh cultural and political identity.
Born in England to Welsh-speaking parents, Lewis grew up immersed in Welsh language and culture despite his surroundings.
After serving as a lieutenant in World War I, he pursued higher education, earning degrees in English and French, and later a Master’s focusing on English poetry’s influence on Welsh writers.
His early career as a lecturer at University College Swansea marked a productive period in his literary and political development, during which he wrote plays, essays, and critiques that laid the foundation for his nationalist philosophy.
In 1925, he co-founded Plaid Cymru, the Welsh nationalist party, advocating for a Welsh-speaking society and autonomy from British imperialism.
He is considered to this day one of the most important founders of the Welsh movement and a reference who’s ideas and example have shaped Wales to this day.
. . .
This paper is financially supported by the European Parliament. The European Parliament is not liable for the content or the opinions of the authors.
REMEMBERING O.P. HUWS
On behalf of the members of the Nantlle Valley Branch.
O.P. was an inspiration to us all; a leader by instinct and full of fun and mischief. He worked tirelessly on councils and in the community for the welfare of the people of the Valley, to promote work opportunities and to protect the Welsh language and our heritage. A man of the people who did the ‘small things’ but one who saw far. The Nebo and Dyffryn Nantlle area were fortunate to have such a lively character among us.
O.P. was never still. There was too much to do. One of his frequent sayings was, “If you want something done, ask a busy man.” And O.P. was a busy man.
His great hero was Wmffra Roberts, – County Councilor and Dafydd Wigley’s Agent in the 1974 General Election. A charismatic man and an inspiration to many. O.P. had enough fire in his belly as a Welshman but Wmffra showed him how to channel that to win votes, win elections and win the hearts of the country’s folk.
And O.P. was a people person. And a man of the people; he got on with everyone. And O.P.’s was not some ‘look-at-me’ nationalism. – but a practical one. A man who always had his feet on the ground.
Immigrants to Nebo? One solution was to create Cymdeithas Fro to try to assimilate the new arrivals. And start a learners’ class.
House prices rising unreasonably? Organize a protest in Nebo and then occupying the land of a nearby house that was for sale at a bargain price and sleeping in a tent on the lawn to draw attention to the crisis. And of course that raises neighbours’ fears.
He noticed when canvassing a certain village that the population was aging and there was a lack of young families. What did we do? Establish Antur Nantlle and years of committee and organizing. But now over a hundred people work in Antur’s offices and workshops.
But that’s not all. When there was a campaign for the establishment of a Welsh Television Channel he refused to pay the license fee, – he and his friend Bryn Mosely from Nebo, and both had a period in Walton. The stories would flow about his short stay in prison and the ‘characters’ among his fellow lodgers. But there was also a deep sympathy with those who were caught in an endless cycle of being in and out of prison. “What hope did they have?” was his question.
But O.P. was not a man to despair. There was too much to do and ideas to realize! I called to see him in Bryngwyn when he was confined by the cancer and despite his pain the conversation flowed. As I was leaving he said, “Thank you for calling. Thank you for the conversation. Where did the years go?” Of course I had no answer. But I do know one thing, that Owen Pennant Huws made full use of his years in his adopted Valley surrounded by his family and his neighbourhood. He will leave a big gap behind him.
Alun Fred