{"id":6082,"date":"2019-06-30T00:05:02","date_gmt":"2019-06-29T23:05:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=6082"},"modified":"2019-06-30T08:57:49","modified_gmt":"2019-06-30T07:57:49","slug":"6082","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=6082","title":{"rendered":"Cofiwch Dryweryn. Please."},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/span><\/p>\n

Since the vandalism of the \u2018Cofiwch Dryweryn\u2019 mural near Aberystwyth earlier this year, I\u2019ve noticed \u2018Cofiwch Dryweryn\u2019 signs reminiscent of the original appearing all over Wales \u2013 and all over the world, too. It feels like a nation coming together and showing that even if you try to silence us, we will continue to tell our story so that history won\u2019t repeat itself.<\/p>\n

But what\u2019s the importance of \u2018Cofiwch Dryweryn\u2019?<\/p>\n

\u2018Cofiwch Dryweryn\u2019 means \u2018Remember Tryweryn\u2019 in Welsh and is in reference to the drowning of the Welsh village Capel Celyn (the valley was Cwm Tryweryn) in 1965.<\/p>\n

During the mid-1950s, it was announced by the Liverpool Daily Post that they intended to flood the village of Capel Celyn in order to use it as a reservoir for Liverpool. The 67 Welsh-speakers living in the village of Capel Celyn were blindsided by the news and were stripped of their choice to save their village.<\/p>\n

The Capel Celyn Defence Committee was set up, in addition to the Liverpool branch of the Tryweryn Defence Committee. On November 7th, 1956 the Committee sent representatives, including the president of Plaid Cymru, Gwynfor Evans, to address Liverpool City Council. The three were escorted from the chamber, and Gwynfor Evans was shouted down. They were fighting for a chance to save their village, because an English city deemed many in Wales becoming homeless as a reasonable sacrifice for their water. The only thing is, Liverpool wasn\u2019t the place having to make the sacrifice.<\/p>\n

Capel Celyn wasn\u2019t the first time Liverpool had decided they could use Wales to their disposal. Eighty years prior to the drowning of Capel Celyn, Liverpool had used Llanddwyn as a reservoir, later becoming Llyn Llanddwyn as it is today.<\/p>\n

In January 1957, Liverpool began its attempts through the parliamentary system. Obtaining authority through an Act of Parliament meant Liverpool City Council managed to avoid the need for consent from Welsh planning authorities. Wales were silenced and refused the right to argue to save Capel Celyn. Wales wouldn\u2019t earn a Senedd for decades, and the lack of devolution in 1957 meant Parliament in England could do what they wanted to Wales. 36 MPs alone were in Parliament on behalf of Wales, but their numbers were too low, and their opposition seemed futile.<\/p>\n

Eight years after the fight had begun, the residents of Capel Celyn were forced out as the flooding drew near. Alun Ffred Jones, who was 15 at the time of the flooding said of the opening ceremony for Llyn Celyn, \u201cThese people had drowned this village and driven people from their homes, and they were suddenly arriving to have a tea party\u201d. The displeasure shown by the residents of Capel Celyn at the time has been consistent since the drowning in 1965.<\/p>\n

The drowning of Capel Celyn is unforgettable because it was almost reminiscent of the treatment by the Welsh people under English rule centuries earlier. By working around giving Wales the opportunity to fight the drowning in any legal way, Liverpool twisted Wales\u2019 arm behind its back and made it obey. The Welsh were second-class citizens following the betrayal of Llywelyn ap Gruffydd in 1282, and the \u2018Cofiwch Dryweryn\u2019 mural is so honoured because it reminds Wales that history can repeat itself unless we find a way of fighting back.<\/p>\n

The continuous vandalization of the \u2018Cofiwch Dryweryn\u2019 mural has incredibly backfired, with many flocking to the site quickly to repaint and later rebuild the wall. A wall behind the original site has since been painted \u2018fe godwn ni eto\u2019 (\u2018we will rise again\u2019). Dozens of \u2018Cofiwch Dryweryn\u2019 murals have been appearing all over the world. Through Wales, some in England, even in America and Spain. The resilience of the Welsh people is sensational, and it will forever make me proud to call Cymru my home. \u2018Cofiwch Dryweryn\u2019 is a symbol that Wales won\u2019t lie back and accept oppression.<\/p>\n

The drowning of the Tryweryn valley in 1965 sparked so much anger throughout Wales that it aided in the revolution and evolution of the Welsh language, to a point where Cardiff Council is now being urged to only open Welsh language schools in the years to come. The fact that Wales was so easily stepped upon caused a want for more power in Wales, and today devolution is an ever-changing improvement in Wales, with powers slowly but surely moving back to where they belong \u2013 the Welsh people\u2019s grasps.<\/p>\n

\u2018Cofiwch Dryweryn\u2019 isn\u2019t meant to be a middle-finger to every English person, it\u2019s meant to be a symbol of power to the Welsh people. To remember that we deserve more than the insult that occurred with Capel Celyn. To remember that a fair democracy should mean that Wales earns a voice within Britain, and that next time it\u2019s not overlooked.<\/p>\n

Cofiwch Dryweryn. Please.<\/p>\n

By Tirion Davies<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Since the vandalism of the \u2018Cofiwch Dryweryn\u2019 mural near Aberystwyth earlier this year, I\u2019ve noticed \u2018Cofiwch Dryweryn\u2019 signs reminiscent of the original appearing all over Wales \u2013 and all over the world, too. It feels like a nation coming together and showing that even if you try to silence us, we will continue to tell our story so that history […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[334,274,1],"tags":[346],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/s6cWjO-6082","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":12750,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=12750","url_meta":{"origin":6082,"position":0},"title":"Place-Names Derivation – Llwyneliddon \/ St Lythans","author":"Alan Williams","date":"5th January 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"THE DERIVATION AND MEANING OF PLACE-NAMES LLWYNELIDDON \/ ST LYTHANS The Welsh name is made up of two elements - \u2018llwyn\u2019 and \u2018Eliddon\u2019. \u2018Llwyn\u2019 is the Welsh word for \u2018grove\u2019 or \u2018copse\u2019 and the second element \u2018Eliddon\u2019\u2019 is the name of the saint to whom an earlier church was dedicated.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Readers Articles of Interest"","block_context":{"text":"Readers Articles of Interest","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=228"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":11794,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=11794","url_meta":{"origin":6082,"position":1},"title":"Close Links To Ukraine","author":"Alan Williams","date":"6th July 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0OUR LINKS TO UKRAINE MAY BE CLOSER THAN YOU THINK It may come as a surprise to many that the city of Donetsk owed its foundation, and in large part its development, to a Welsh businessman, John Hughes from Merthyr Tydfil. 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