Norah Isaac (1914 – 3 August 2003) was a
Welsh author, drama producer and campaigner for Welsh-language education.
She became head of the country's first Welsh-medium school,
Ysgol Gymraeg yr Urdd, in 1939.
Background
Norah Isaac was born in 1914 in the village of
Caerau near Maesteg in the old county of
Glamorgan,
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 ...
. She was educated at Glamorgan Training College in
Barry Barry may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Barry (name), including lists of people with the given name, nickname or surname, as well as fictional characters with the given name
* Dancing Barry, stage name of Barry Richards (born c. 19 ...
.
Welsh-language advocate
Isaac was an advocate of the Welsh language. In 1935 she became head of the Glamorgan division of
Urdd Gobaith Cymru
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 ...
, a Welsh-medium youth movement, remaining there until her appointment as founding head of
Ysgol Gymraeg yr Urdd in 1939, the country's first school to teach in Welsh.
When Ysgol Gymraeg yr Urdd opened as a private school, Isaac was the sole teacher and there were only seven pupils. The success Isaac brought to it caused annual growth, until by 1945 there were four teachers and 71 pupils in an original building was too small for its purpose. The school moved to a country house near
Llanbadarn and changed its name to Ysgol Lluest. Isaac remained as head teacher until 1949. During her time there she and
Ifan ab Owen Edwards
Sir Ifan ab Owen Edwards (25 July 1895 – 23 January 1970) was a Welsh academic, writer and film-maker, best known as the founder of Urdd Gobaith Cymru, the Welsh League of Youth.
He was born at Tremaran, Llanuwchllyn, Merionethshire, the ...
, who established the school, campaigned for the introduction of Welsh-medium schools throughout Wales. Between 1950 and 1958 she lectured at her old college in Barry, before becoming the principal lecturer in Welsh and Drama at
Trinity College Carmarthen, establishing the first Welsh Drama Department in Wales.
Publications and plays
Isaac published several books, including two collections of short stories, ''Storiau Awr Hamdden i Blant'' (1979 and 1982), and a monograph on Sir Ifan ab Owen Edwards.
She also wrote travel books, after visits to
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
,
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
and
Colombia.
She produced several plays based on major Welsh cultural figures, notably
Iolo Morganwg
Edward Williams, better known by his bardic name Iolo Morganwg (; 10 March 1747 – 18 December 1826), was a Welsh antiquarian, poet and collector.Jones, Mary (2004)"Edward Williams/Iolo Morganwg/Iolo Morgannwg" From ''Jones' Celtic Encyclop ...
(1974),
Griffith Jones (1984) and
William Williams (1991).
Honours
Along with her drama and literary work, Isaac was an important figure in the
National Eisteddfod and awarded an Honorary Fellowship of the National Eisteddfod for her lifelong commitment, the first woman to be given this honour.
After her death in August 2003, Iolo Wyn Williams declared in his book ''Our Children's Language: The Welsh-Medium Schools of Wales, 1939–2000'' that Isaac was "the most influential individual in the history of Welsh-medium education".
[Williams (2003), p. 50.]
References
Bibliography
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Isaac, Norah
1914 births
2003 deaths
20th-century British short story writers
20th-century Welsh educators
20th-century Welsh writers
20th-century Welsh women writers
20th-century women educators
People from Bridgend County Borough
Welsh-language writers
Welsh language activists
Welsh women dramatists and playwrights
20th-century Welsh dramatists and playwrights
Welsh women educators
People associated with Trinity University College
Welsh short story writers
British women short story writers
Welsh travel writers
British women travel writers