The Chair of the
National Eisteddfod
of Wales 2005
This year Tudur
Dylan Jones won the Chair at the National Eisteddfod. Winning the Chair is
one of the greatest achievments in Welsh culture and the bards that win
the Chair are among the ‘Greats’ of our Nation. To win the Chair the poet
writes an ‘Awdl’ which is written in strict metre known as ‘cynghanedd’.
After the adjudication when the nomme de plume ‘Drws y Coed’ was revealed,
we here in Rhiw felt very proud as one of ours had won the Chair. Not only
that but this was Dylan’s second Chair, a great achievement indeed, he won
one ten years ago at the ‘Bro Colwyn Eisteddfod’. Both Dylan’s father the
Rev John Gwilym Jones (a former Archdruid) and his father in law Robin
Bala have also won a Chair in previous years.
Tudur Dylan and
his family spend most of their holidays at Bwlchgarreg, a tiny cottage
that has been in his wife’s family for over two centuries,
and which they have recently restored. It was a great honour for the Chair
to have been in Bwlchgarreg, Rhiw, albeit for only a couple of nights.
Dylan is a Welsh Teacher at Ysgol y Strade, Llanelli and lives in
Carmarthen, but his heart is here in Rhiw.
