Selwyn Griffith (1928 – 10 August 2011) was a Welsh language poet and 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

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 ...

, known by the bardic name Selwyn Iolen. Selwyn Iolen was born in

Bethel Bethel ( he, בֵּית אֵל, translit=Bēṯ 'Ēl, "House of El" or "House of God",Bleeker and Widegren, 1988, p. 257. also transliterated ''Beth El'', ''Beth-El'', ''Beit El''; el, Βαιθήλ; la, Bethel) was an ancient Israelite sanct ...

, near

Caernarfon Caernarfon (; ) is a royal town, community and port in Gwynedd, Wales, with a population of 9,852 (with Caeathro). It lies along the A487 road, on the eastern shore of the Menai Strait, opposite the Isle of Anglesey. The city of Bangor is ...

in 1928 and lived in the area throughout his life. He was educated at Bethel Primary School and

Ysgol Syr Hugh Owen Ysgol Syr Hugh Owen is a bilingual Comprehensive school, comprehensive secondary school for pupils aged 11–18. The school is situated in Caernarfon, Gwynedd, Wales. The school was established in 1894, the first to be built under the ''Welsh Int ...

, Caernarfon. He worked as a local government officer for Gwyrfai Rural District Council for 18 years before pursuing a teacher training course at the

Bangor Normal College The Normal College, Bangor ( cy, Y Coleg Normal) was an independent teacher training college, founded in 1858. It was created through the efforts of the British and Foreign School Society and the educator Sir Hugh Owen, and was funded by £11,0 ...

. After completing his teacher training course he went on to teach in Ysgol Cadnant Conwy, Ysgol Penybryn Bethesda, Ysgol Llanberis, Ysgol Dolbadarn and as headteacher of Rhiwlas Primary School. Selwyn Iolen won numerous local eisteddfod chairs across Wales and published seven volumes of poetic recitations for children, a collection of general poetic works ''C'narfon a Cherddi Eraill'' and an autobiography ''O Barc y Wern i Barc y Faenol'' He was elected a member of the Gorsedd in 1973. He won the Dyffryn Conwy National Eisteddfod Crown in 1989 and served as Archdruid between 2005 and 2008, he also officiated as Archdruid at the 2009 Eisteddfod due to the illness of Archdruid

Dic Jones Dic Jones (30 March 1934 – 18 August 2009), was a Welsh-language poet and Archdruid of the National Eisteddfod of Wales. Career Jones was born Richard Lewis Jones at Tre'r-ddôl in Ceredigion. The son of a farmer, he himself farmed at Fferm ...

Works

*2007: ''O Barc y Wern i Barc y Faenol'' *2000: ''Nesa i Adrodd...'' *1995: ''A Dyma'r Ola *1995: ''Mae Gen i Gân'' (with Leah Owen) *1992: ''Dewch i Adrodd Eto'' *1992: ''Dewch i Adrodd'' *1990: ''Pawb yn Barod?'' *1986: ''Llwyfan y Plant'' *1979: ''C'nafron a Cherddi Eraill''

References

Obituary
from

BBC Wales BBC Cymru Wales is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Wales. It is one of the four BBC national regions, alongside the BBC English Regions, BBC Northern Ireland and BBC Scotland. Established in 1964, BBC Cymru Wales is ...

(in Welsh)
Obituary

Golwg360 () is a Welsh-language news website. It aims to provide a rolling news service from Wales and elsewhere, as well as sport and cultural news. Published by , it includes some content from the weekly Welsh-language magazine as well as web-only ...

1928 births 2011 deaths People from Llanddeiniolen Welsh-language poets Bards of the Gorsedd Crowned bards Welsh Eisteddfod archdruids Heads of schools in Wales 20th-century Welsh poets {{Wales-writer-stub