News and
Events
Tag Rugby in
Dublin 2008
If Wales' latest Grand Slam success has
inspired you to play rugby why not join the Dublin Welsh Tag Rugby
team? The mixed team will be playing in both the Spring and Summer
Leagues, and still need some more female players. No
previous experience is necessary, just a commitment to playing in a fun
environment. Also, the men's team will play in the Summer League and
still has a couple of vacancies for players.
If you are interested in the mixed league
contact Nathan Jones, and contact Robin Smith for the men's team both
via the Draig Werdd email -
info@draigwerdd.org . Both teams play in the social leagues in
Dublin, and our aim is to have fun as well as emulating the successes of
our national team.
Friends of Draig Werdd 2008
For just 10 Euro per annum you can
become a “Friend of Draig Werdd” for 2008, and help us to continue to
promote Wales, its politics, people and culture and to provide a focus
for the Welsh community in Ireland. As well as maintaining the website
and issuing regular newsletters, your contribution will help us to
organise special functions during the year in pursuit of our aims. The
society has no membership fee, and relies on voluntary contributions for
funding.
Click here to
access a form which may be printed, filled in and posted to Draig Werdd
with your contribution.
100th Birthday Celebrations
Congratulations to Draig Werdd member
Howell Evans on celebrating his 100th birthday on October 19th, 2007.
Howell has been a long-standing supporter of the Welsh community in
Dublin for most of that period, having lived in the city for virtually
his entire life, although he was educated in Holyhead, Anglesey.
Despite his long years spent outside Wales, he has not lost his love for
the land of his fathers nor his command and enthusiasm for the Welsh
language, which he continues to use whenever the opportunity presents
itself. Howell was a member of Dublin Welsh choir for many years,
and is the last surviving member of the Welsh chapel in Talbot Street,
Dublin - Howell's own history of the chapel can be read at
http://www.draigwerdd.org/Newsletters/Capel%20Cymraeg.rtf .
Some photos from Howell's birthday
celebrations with friends and relations are shown below.
Click on any of the photos to enlarge the picture.
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Howell with his niece and great niece |
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Howell with Keith Young (right), conductor of the Dublin Welsh choir and former choir colleagues Geraint Waters (left) and Paddy Lee (second from right) |
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100th birthday cake, complete with picture of Howell |
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AGM 2007 report
The Annual General Meeting (AGM) took
place on October 4th in Scruffy Murphy's, Dublin. Here are
the main points to emerge from the meeting:
-
An
amendment to the constitution was passed to reduce the number of
committee members from 7 to 5, by reducing the number of ordinary
members to 2.
-
The
following committee was then elected to serve for the year 2007/8:
Robin Smith (chairperson)
Nan Davies (secretary)
Geraint Waters (treasurer)
Tim Murphy
Gareth Llwyd Jones
-
A wide
discussion took place on the activities and aims of the society, and
the way in which St. David's Day should be celebrated. It was
felt in general that the membership of the society should be
increased sufficiently in order to increase attendance at events and
that publicity for the St. David's Day dinner could be used to bring
this about.
A
message from the chairperson:
I am pleased to be elected again as
your Chairperson. The AGM confirmed the need for a Welsh society and
your new committee will be considering how we can maximise membership
participation at future events. Thank-you for your continued support of
Draig Werdd and I look forward to meeting you over the next 12 months.
Robin.
Beer and Cider in Ireland: The Complete
Guide
Liberties Press has
announced its new title ‘Beer and Cider in Ireland: The Complete Guide’
by Draig Werdd member Iorwerth Griffiths. The book, which is the very
first to cover all the brews and ciders produced in Ireland, features a
foreword by food writer Tom Doorley. The title was recently launched by
the Minister for Food Trevor Sargent in the appropriate surroundings of
The Porterhouse bar on Parliament Street in Dublin 2. The press
release issued by the publishers is reproduced here:
About the book:
In recent years, the Irish public has become ever more sophisticated and
well travelled, and with this has come a growing interest in food and
drink. We have become more adventurous in our tastes, both when going
out and when entertaining at home. Beer and Cider in Ireland: The
Complete Guide is the first book of its kind to discuss all the
beers and ciders produced in Ireland and their outlets such as the
Porterhouse, as well as the increasing number of eclectic overseas brews
that are available in our shops and off licences.
The book covers all the breweries and
cidermakers of Ireland, north and south, from the major international
companies to the numerous microbreweries that have sprung up in recent
years. The history of each brewery and cidermaker is outlined, the main
beers and ciders produced by them are described, and notes on
appreciating the drinks are provided. Overall, this is essential reading
for everyone who is interested in the wide range of beers and ciders
produced and sold in Ireland, and in the country's rich traditions of
brewing and cidermaking. The book which is fully illustrated throughout
is priced at €11.99
About the author: Iorwerth
Griffiths is originally from Wales but is now based in Belfast. He has
written for a number of drinks publications including Malt Advocate and
Whisky magazine. In the course of his research he has travelled around
Ireland and met the people who run and work in the major Irish breweries
and the growing number of microbreweries.
Hill Walking
- 17/06/2007
Our hill walking in the Wicklow mountains
on Sunday June 17th was a very enjoyable occasion, giving the
opportunity for a day's exercise in beautiful surroundings with good
company. The walk was led by experienced hill-walker Dai Horton,
who took us through the mountains around Glenmalure, passing Art's Lough
and Kelly's Lough on the way. Our thanks go to Dai for
leading the walk with humour and patience - the only regret is that Dai
was leaving Ireland the following weekend, so will be unable to lead us
on other walks in the future. However, we'd like to wish him
the best of luck for the future as he returns to live in Wales.
Below are some photos from the day.
Click on any photo for a full screen display:
LEXICELT
project
The LEXICELT online Welsh-Irish dictionary
is now available on
www.lexicelt.org - a link to the
website may be found from the our own home page. The aim of LEXICELT is
to provide support for Irish and Welsh speakers to learn each other's
languages without having to use English. There is a depository of
phrases and an Irish-Welsh dictionary available online for free. Not
only will there be teaching material available online but also
information about Ireland and Wales that will spark people's
interest in the two Celtic countries and cultures.
The LEXICELT project creates an important
link between Ireland and Wales, and especially between the Irish and
Welsh Languages. University College Dublin and the University of Wales,
Bangor are responsible for the work and the team includes Draig Werdd
member Dr. Dewi Evans.
The Celtic Tri Genealogy project: linking Welsh descendants with their
roots
Are you interested in researching your
family tree?
If you are, maybe Catherine Tudor Jones
of Gwynedd Archive Service can be of assistance. Gwynedd is currently
participating in an exciting new initiative called the ‘Celtic Tri
Genealogy Project’. Catherine, the genealogy officer working on the
project stated “Our intention is to build links as a starting point for
further genealogical study”.
The Celtic Tri Genealogy Project was
established between Gwynedd Council in Wales and both Dublin City
Council and Waterford County Council in Ireland. This is an EU funded
project for developing the tourist industry under the title Interreg
IIIA.
“Our hope is to maximise economic and
cultural benefits from the family history market and exploring further
the existing genealogical and cultural connection between the two
countries. We hope that cross-border links developed by this project
will also facilitate the encouragement of visitors to address both Irish
and Welsh aspects of a Celtic Pedigree.”
As part of the project a survey was
launched in order to investigate levels of interest in genealogy amongst
people of Welsh descent and identify any links between genealogy and
tourism. The survey was targeted towards Welsh Societies across the
world, and a very positive response has been received. The reaction from
America has been especially encouraging with high numbers showing
interest in tracing their roots. This is not surprising considering the
waves of Welsh emigrants who emigrated to the U.S since the days of
Prince Madog in 1188, making many contributions in government, industry,
labour, law, music and religion. Gwynedd Quakers settled in Pennsylvania
naming Bryn Mawr after the home farmstead. 20% of the Pilgrim Fathers
were Welsh as was the Captain of the Mayflower. 50% of those who signed
the American Declaration of Independence were Welsh or of Welsh decent
and they included Thomas Jefferson.
“1,753,794 people of Welsh ethnicity
were living in the United States according to the Census in 2000; -
think of Eisteddfodau, Cymanfaoedd Canu and the Welsh newspaper ‘Ninnau’.
We aim to target these Welsh communities and are eager to attract Welsh
Americans back to their homeland to taste the heritage and culture of
their forefathers”.
As part of the project several family
history courses have been carried out in Dolgellau Record Office in
Meirionnydd. The aim was to better inform people who offer Bed and
Breakfast accommodation to visitors and to encourage them to take a more
active interest in family history resources which are available in the
area. As a result, they will be better equipped to pass on to visitors
the knowledge they have gained of family history resources. During the
next few months, similar courses will be held in Caernarfon for any
people in the tourism industry who are eager to learn more about the
resources in their local record office.
A website for the Celtic Tri Project
has been launched in August 2006 providing additional information and
updates on the latest developments. “As part of the project we aim to
support Irish and Welsh language initiatives”. As a result all related
websites will be developed using the home language (Irish/Welsh) as well
as English. Gwynedd are also working on cataloguing collections and
ensuring their online availability.
Therefore if you are keen to research
your ancestors in the Gwynedd area or if you know of any relations, who
have immigrated to America over the years, please feel free to contact
us. We’ve also published a free booklet and pamphlets on how to get
started researching your family tree and on the possible resources which
are available to genealogists. So please contact Catherine Tudor Jones
via the website at
www.celtictri.info if you are interested in receiving the
information pack or if you require any additional information.
Above (from left to right): Catherine
Tudor Jones and Huw Pierce Pritchard of Gwynedd Record Office along with
Fiachra O Ceilleachair, Mayor of Dungarvan Town, Cllr Gerard Barron, the
Mayor of County Waterford and Joanne Rothwell, the Archivist of
Waterford County Archives at the launch of the booklet Waterford
produced as part of the Celtic Tri Project.
Dalkey & Anglesey
"Sharing a Culture" Festival
23-25 September 2005
Dalkey Castle & Heritage Centre and the Dalkey Interreg Project Office
in partnership with Oriel Ynys Môn in Anglesey, Wales organised a highly
successful festival from 23rd-25th September 2005 in Dalkey, Co. Dublin to
promote cultural
exchanges between Dalkey & Anglesey.
The festival extended over three days
and involved representatives of the arts from both Ireland and Wales.
Representing Wales were Côr ABC from Aberystwyth, the folk dancing group
Ffidl Ffadl from Anglesey, and a group of the leading poets in Wales,
including Myrddin ap Dafydd, Meirion McIntyre Huws, Iwan Llwyd, Twm
Morys and Ifor ap Glyn, all past winners of either the crown or chair at
the National Eisteddfod of Wales.
The festival ended on Sunday with a
pageant through the streets of Dalkey, which featured a Welsh Dragon and
Dalkey Goat (by Welsh artist Toby Downing in association with Dalkey
artists Valerie Coombes, John Higgins and the Black Sheep team) winding
their way down Castle Street.
The artistic standards throughout the
festival were consistently of the highest order, and the organisers are
to be thoroughly congratulated on promoting these significant
cross-border cultural exchanges, and for giving the people of Dalkey and
the surrounding area the chance to sample real Welsh culture and
traditions - something which happens all too rarely despite the
geographical closeness of the two nations.
Click here for
photos of some of the events.
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