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 t ...

of 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. Competitors ...

, 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 san ...

, 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 i ...

in 1928 and lived in the area throughout his life. He was educated at Bethel Primary School and Ysgol Syr Hugh Owen, 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 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 ...

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.

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 i ...

(in Welsh)
Obituary
Golwg360 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