Gareth Jamie Bevan is a Welsh language campaigner from

Merthyr Tydfil Merthyr Tydfil (; cy, Merthyr Tudful ) is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after T ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

and a prominent member of

Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg The Welsh Language Society ( cy, Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg, often abbreviated to Cymdeithas yr Iaith or just Cymdeithas) is a direct action pressure group in Wales campaigning for the right of Welsh people to use the Welsh language in every as ...

. Bevan refused to pay fines and costs to Merthyr Tydfil Magistrate's Court for breaking into

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

offices in north Cardiff the day before a visit from

David Cameron David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016. He previously served as Leader o ...

in a demonstration against cuts to

S4C S4C (, ''Sianel Pedwar Cymru'', meaning ''Channel Four Wales'') is a Welsh language free-to-air public broadcast television channel. Launched on 1 November 1982, it was the first television channel to be aimed specifically at a Welsh-speaking ...

. Bevan was sentenced to 35 days in prison by Merthyr Tydfil magistrates in 2012. He has said that he is using the case to draw attention to the lack of Welsh language correspondence from the courts. He had complained three times about a monolingual English correspondence from the courts service but later received a court summons in English only.

Music

Bevan is also a Welsh folk singer-songwriter, performing solo and with bands ''Y Betti Galws'' and ''Jamie Bevan a’r Gweddillion''. He has performed alongside Welsh language folk stalwarts

Meic Stevens Meic Stevens (born 13 March 1942) is a Welsh singer-songwriter. Stevens's songs have a mystical, faintly psychedelic flavour, and are mostly sung in his native Welsh language. Still largely unknown outside Wales, he was discovered by DJ Jim ...

and

Dafydd Iwan Dafydd Iwan Jones (born 24 August 1943) is a Welsh singer and nationalist politician who rose to fame writing and performing folk music in the Welsh language. From 2003 to 2010, Iwan was the president of Plaid Cymru, a political party which a ...

and his music has been played on

BBC Radio Wales BBC Radio Wales is a Welsh radio station owned and operated by BBC Cymru Wales, a division of the BBC. It began broadcasting on 13 November 1978, replacing the 'Radio 4 Wales' opt-out service (previously the Welsh Home Service). Radio Wales b ...

Radio Cymru BBC Radio Cymru is a Welsh language radio network owned and operated by BBC Cymru Wales, a division of the BBC. It broadcasts on two stations across Wales on FM, DAB, digital TV and online. The main network broadcasts for hours a day from ...

and

. He has performed live at the

National Eisteddfod of Wales The National Eisteddfod of Wales (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 Europe. Competitor ...

and at

Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic language of the Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales, by some in England, and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut Province, Argentina). Historically, it h ...

republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

and other political benefit gigs, together with regular appearances at Red Poets events alongside poet Mike Jenkins and others.

Discography

*Y Betti Galws - Self-titled, (2009) CD. *Jamie Bevan a’r Gweddillion - Torri'r Cerffiw, (2011) CD *Jamie Bevan a’r Gweddillion - Ei Fab aeth o'i Flaen (Sain), (2012) Download. *Jamie Bevan a’r Gweddillion - Bach Yn Ryff, (2013) CD.

References

Living people Welsh activists Welsh language activists Welsh republicans People from Merthyr Tydfil Year of birth missing (living people) {{Wales-bio-stub