Geraint Lloyd Owen (born 15 May 1941) is a Welsh-language poet, also known by his bardic name Geraint Llifon. He is a retired head teacher and was the

Archdruid Archdruid () is the title used by the presiding official of the Gorsedd. The Archdruid presides over the most important ceremonies at the National Eisteddfod of Wales including the Crowning of the Bard, the award of the and the Chairing of the ...

of the

Gorsedd A gorsedd (, plural ''gorseddau'') is a community or meeting of modern-day bards. The word is of Welsh origin, meaning "throne". It is spelled gorsedh in Cornish and goursez in Breton. When the term is used without qualification, it usually r ...

between 2016 and 2019. He was born in a farmhouse between Llandderfel and Sarnau,

Meirionnydd Meirionnydd is a coastal and mountainous region of Wales. It has been a kingdom, a cantref, a district and, as Merionethshire, a county. Kingdom Meirionnydd (Meirion, with -''ydd'' as a Welsh suffix of land, literally ''Land adjoined to Meirion ...

, before moving to his mother's family home in Sarnau village. He attended the local school, then Ysgol Tŷ-tan-domen,

Bala Bala may refer to: Places India *Bala, India, a village in Allahabad, India * Bala, Ahor, a village in the Jalore district of Rajasthan * Bala, Raebareli, a village in Uttar Pradesh, India Romania * Bala, Mehedinți, a commune in Mehedinţi ...

, and trained as a secondary-school teacher at the Heath College,

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

. He taught at

Machynlleth Machynlleth () is a market town, community and electoral ward in Powys, Wales and within the historic boundaries of Montgomeryshire. It is in the Dyfi Valley at the intersection of the A487 and the A489 roads. At the 2001 Census it had a popul ...

. He won numerous local

eisteddfod In Welsh culture, an ''eisteddfod'' is an institution and festival with several ranked competitions, including in poetry and music. The term ''eisteddfod'', which is formed from the Welsh morphemes: , meaning 'sit', and , meaning 'be', means, a ...

chairs, including

Pontrhydfendigaid Pontrhydfendigaid () is a village in Ceredigion, Wales. It lies on the western flank of the Cambrian Mountains, between Devil's Bridge and Tregaron. The village lies on the River Teifi, whose source is just 3 miles (5 km) to the east at Ll ...

Lampeter Lampeter (; cy, Llanbedr Pont Steffan (formal); ''Llambed'' (colloquial)) is a town, community and electoral ward in Ceredigion, Wales, at the confluence of the Afon Dulas with the River Teifi. It is the third largest urban area in Ceredigion, ...

, Gŵyl Fawr Aberteifi (Cardigan), Powys and the

Urdd Urdd Gobaith Cymru () (known as the Urdd) is a national voluntary youth organisation, which claimed over 56,000 members in 2019 aged between 8 and 25 years old. It provides opportunities for children and young people across Wales to take part ...

. He was head teacher of Ysgol y Ffôr, Pwllheli, and Ysgol Treferthyr, Cricieth, before taking early retirement in order to run Siop y Pentan in Caernarfon. He won the

Crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...

in The

National Eisteddfod of Wales The National Eisteddfod of Wales (Welsh language, Welsh: ') is the largest of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales. Its eight days of competitions and performances are considered the largest music and poetry festival in Eur ...

( Wrecsam and District) 2011. Lloyd Owen became Archdruid, having been appointed in July 2015. His tenure as Archdruid started in 2016 and was to last for three years, 2016 - 2019. In August 2018 Llifon caused controversy when he suggested the winner of the bardic crown at the Cardiff National Eisteddfod,

Catrin Dafydd Catrin Dafydd (born c. 1982) is a Welsh author, scriptwriter and poet, who was awarded the Crown at the 2018 National Eisteddfod of Wales. Background Dafydd is of a Welsh language family from Gwaelod y Garth, near Cardiff and attended her loc ...

, couldn't have achieved this without men. He later apologised. He was succeeded as Archdruid by

Myrddin ap Dafydd Myrddin ap Dafydd (born 25 July 1956) is a Welsh writer, publisher and chaired bard. In 2018 he was elected Archdruid of Wales. Myrddin ap Dafydd was born in Llanrwst, north Wales. He was educated in the town's schools and at the University Col ...

. Lloyd Owen's brother was the

Prifardd Y Prifardd,http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/eisteddfod2008/sites/guide/history/pages/gorsedd.shtml BBC Guide to the Eisteddfod literally ''The Chief Bard'', is the Welsh language, Welsh title given to bards who have won either the Chairing of the Bard, c ...

Gerallt Lloyd Owen Gerallt Lloyd Owen (6 November 1944 – 15 July 2014) was a Welsh-language poet who lived in Llandwrog. He is considered to be one of Wales's leading "strict-metre" poets. Works Owen began as a "political poet" in the 1960s, often using medieval ...

.BBC Wales - Eisteddfod 2011

References

1941 births 20th-century Welsh poets Living people Welsh Eisteddfod archdruids Crowned bards Welsh male poets {{Wales-poet-stub