Dafydd Iwan Jones (born 24 August 1943) is a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...

singer and

nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...

politician who rose to fame writing and performing

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has ...

in the

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 ...

. From 2003 to 2010, Iwan was the president of Plaid Cymru, a political party which advocates for Welsh independence from the UK.

Early life

Dafydd Iwan Jones was born in Brynamman, Carmarthenshire. One of four boys, his siblings include the actor Huw Ceredig and the politician

Alun Ffred Jones Alun Ffred Jones (born 29 October 1949) is a Welsh politician and member of Plaid Cymru and former television producer, writer and director. Jones was the National Assembly for Wales Member for Caernarfon 2003–07 and for the newly created A ...

. His paternal grandfather, Fred Jones, was a member of the Bardic family Teulu'r Cilie, and a founding member of Plaid Cymru. He spent most of his youth in

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 Mehedin� ...

Gwynedd Gwynedd (; ) is a county and preserved county (latter with differing boundaries; includes the Isle of Anglesey) in the north-west of Wales. It shares borders with Powys, Conwy County Borough, Denbighshire, Anglesey over the Menai Strait, an ...

before attending the

University of Wales, Cardiff , latin_name = , image_name = Shield of the University of Cardiff.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms of Cardiff University , motto = cy, Gwirionedd, Undod a Chytgord , mottoeng = Truth, Unity and Concord , established = 1 ...

, where he studied architecture.

Musical career

Iwan's earliest material was Welsh translations of songs by American folk/protest singers (

Woody Guthrie Woodrow Wilson Guthrie (; July 14, 1912 – October 3, 1967) was an American singer-songwriter, one of the most significant figures in American folk music. His work focused on themes of American socialism and anti-fascism. He has inspire ...

Pete Seeger Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American folk singer and social activist. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, Seeger also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of the Weavers, notabl ...

, and

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

) until he began to write his first ballads. The most prominent of these were political, including the

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or ...

song, "Carlo" ("Charles"). This was written for the investiture of the Prince of Wales in 1969. Iwan has also written love ballads and variations on traditional Welsh folk tunes. By the late 1960s, he was receiving television coverage both for his music and for his political activities as a member of Cymdeithas yr Iaith. He was imprisoned in 1970 for his refusal to pay fines for defacing English-language road signs as part of the fight for Welsh-language rights, serving three weeks of a three-month sentence. This event was commemorated in his song "Pam fod eira'n wyn?" ("Why is snow white?"). His song "Peintio'r byd yn wyrdd" ("Painting the World Green") was regarded as a "battle hymn" of the road signs campaign. During the 1970s, his political interests (and songs) took in such themes as Pinochet's Chile, Welsh devolution, the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

and the

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...

troubles The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an " ...

. Later songs mention events such as the Tiananmen Square massacre (1989), the

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

(1990) and opencast mining in the south Wales valleys (1995). In 1982 and 1983, Iwan embarked on two tours (and accompanying records) with the folk group

Ar Log Ar Log (Welsh for "for hire") are a Welsh folk band. They have performed since the 1970s and are recognized as the first professional Welsh folk band. They perform instrumental music and songs in Welsh. Career The original 1976 members were ...

. Around the turn of the millennium, he signalled an end to regular performances, although he remains an occasional performer.

Yma o Hyd

" Yma O Hyd" ("Still Here") was released in 1981 to “raise the spirits, to remind people we still speak Welsh against all odds. To show we are still here". Since then, the song has become an unofficial Welsh anthem as well as an unofficial anthem for the

Wales national football team ) , Association = Football Association of Wales (FAW) , Confederation = UEFA (Europe) , Coach = Rob Page , Captain = Gareth Bale , Most caps = Gareth Bale (111) , Top scorer = Garet ...

. In January 2020, Iwan's song " Yma o Hyd" ("Still Here") reached number one in the UK iTunes chart, spurred on by purchases by supporters of Welsh independence group

YesCymru YesCymru is a non party-political campaign for an independent Wales. The organisation was formed in the Summer of 2014 and officially launched on 20 February 2016 in Cardiff. In 2022 it became a private company limited by guarantee without sha ...

. The campaign mirrored the success of the Wolfe Tones song " Come Out, Ye Black and Tans" earlier that month. The song was also sung live by Dafydd Iwan before Wales' last two games of their first successful

FIFA World Cup qualification The FIFA World Cup qualification is a competitive match that a national association football team takes in order to qualify for one of the available berths at the final tournament of the (men's) FIFA World Cup. Qualifying tournaments are hel ...

since 1958.

Gareth Bale Gareth Frank Bale (born 16 July 1989) is a Welsh professional footballer who plays as a winger for Major League Soccer club Los Angeles FC and the Wales national team. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wingers of his generation ...

, the Welsh captain also led the Welsh team singing along with Dafydd Iwan after the final match. The performance and Wales's qualification led to the song returning to number one in the UK iTunes chart.

Public life

Using his architecture studies, in 1971 Iwan was one of the founders of (Gwynedd Housing Association) and was involved in other projects to provide homes for the local population in north-west Wales. Dafydd Iwan was one of the founders of (Sain Records Ltd), one of the main Welsh music labels. Formerly a Plaid Cymru

councillor A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...

, he lost his seat in the May 2008 local elections. He blamed his defeat on a dirty tricks campaign by his opponents. Iwan's long service to the Welsh language led to his being made an honorary member 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 ...

Bard In Celtic cultures, a bard is a professional story teller, verse-maker, music composer, oral historian and genealogist, employed by a patron (such as a monarch or chieftain) to commemorate one or more of the patron's ancestors and to praise ...

s at the

National Eisteddfod 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 ...

at Bangor in 1971. Iwan escaped a driving ban (for speeding offences) in October 2003 on the basis that he needed to drive for his musical and political duties. Iwan became President of Plaid Cymru in 2003. As part of his campaign seeking re-election as President of Plaid Cymru, Iwan launched a campaign blog ''Dafydd 4 President'' in July 2008. On 22 October 2011, Dafydd and his wife Bethan came to watch the Welsh derby, Wrexham F.C. vs

Newport County A.F.C. Newport County Association Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Cymdeithas Sir Casnewydd) is a professional football club in the city of Newport, South Wales. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club ...

Dafydd sang his hit song "Yma O Hyd" in front of a crowd of 4,000 before the teams came out. He was invited to sing by the new Wrexham FC Supporters Group, who chose their name "Yma O Hyd" after his song.

Albums

* ''Yma Mae 'Nghân'' (1972) (''Here's My Song'') * ''Mae'r Darnau yn Disgyn i'w Lle'' (1976) (''The Pieces Fall into Place'') * ''Carlo a Chaneuon Eraill'' (1977) (''Carlo and Other Songs'') * ''20 o Ganeuon Gorau (''20 best songs'') * ''I'r Gad'' (1977) (''To The War'') * ''Bod yn Rhydd'' (1979) (''Being Free'') * ''Ar Dan'' (Live) (1981) * ''Rhwng Hwyl a Thaith'' (with Ar Log) (1982) (''Between Fun and Tour'') * ''Yma o Hyd'' (With Ar Log) (1983) (''Still Here'') * ''Gwinllan a Roddwyd'' (1986) (''Donated Vineyard'') * ''Dal I Gredu'' (1991) (''Still Believe'') * ''Caneuon Gwerin'' (1994) (''Folk Songs'') * ''Cân Celt'' (1995) (''Celt Song'') * ''Y Caneuon Cynnar'' (1998) (''Early Songs'') * ''Yn Fyw Cyfrol 1'' (2001) (''Live Volume 1'') * ''Yn Fyw Cyfrol 2'' (2002) (''Live Volume 2'') * ''Goreuon Dafydd Iwan'' (2006) (''Best of Dafydd Iwan'') * ''Man Gwyn'' (''White Space'') (song about the early Welsh emigration to Patagonia and North America) (2007) * ''Dos I ganu'' (2009) (''Go To Sing'') * ''Cana Dy Gân'' (2012) (''Sing Your Song'') (complete 212 song collection) * ''Emynau'' (2015) (''Hymns'') * ''O’r Galon'' (2018) (''From the Heart'')

References

External links

Dafydd Iwan's website

100 Welsh Heroes

Sain biography

Dafydd 4 President, Campaign Blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Iwan, Dafydd 1943 births Leaders of Plaid Cymru Living people Singers from Carmarthenshire Welsh folk musicians Welsh-language singers Welsh singer-songwriters Welsh language activists Welsh-speaking politicians Councillors in Wales Alumni of the Welsh School of Architecture People from Brynamman Welsh republicans