It is time for Saunders Lewis, as one of the greatest leaders of Wales’ national movement, to receive the recognition he is due, according to another former president of Plaid Cymru, Dafydd Wigley.
The Plaid Cymru History Society is pleased to publish in its entirety the major lecture delivered by Dafydd Wigley under the title ‘Saunders Lewis, Plaid Cymru and Europe’. The lecture, which took place in Penarth on Thursday, 19 November 2015 followed the unveiling of a blue plaque on the house in Westbourne Road where he spent a third of his life.
Dafydd Wigley discusses Saunders Lewis’ vision of the rightful place of Wales in Europe; and examines his social philosophy – especially his call to distribute ownership of natural resources among the people so that neither the state, nor an individual nor a group of individuals, can oppress the families of the country economically. How on earth therefore can anyone claim that Saunders Lewis belongs to the extreme right wing?
The contents of the lecture are based on an earlier version delivered to Canolfan Hanes Uwch Gwyrfai, and we are grateful to members of the centre for their kind cooperation in publishing this extended version. It is intended to publish a translation in English on this website in due course.