The Secret Welsh Nationalist Paramilitary: Wales Most Notorious Activists

In 1963, a secret Welsh nationalist paramilitary bombed Capel Celyn Dam. Capel Celyn was once a Welsh village in Tryweryn Valley, Wales. But it's now Llyn Celyn reservoir. The drowning of Capel Celyn would provide water to Liverpool, which many Welsh people viewed as an attack on Welsh heritage. So, Mudiad Amddiffyn Cymru (MAC - Movement for the Defence of Wales) was born, and conducted the Tryweryn valley bombing while Capel Celyn dam was under construction.

More background:
In Wales, you can spot the words "Cofiwch Dryweryn (Remember Tryweryn)" painted on murals. It's a memorial to Capel Celyn, and references the valley (Tryweryn Valley) it was nestled in. Back in the 1960s, Liverpool city council wanted to flood Tryweryn valley & Capel Celyn, destroying the Welsh-speaking community to provide water for the city. Capel Celyn was a bastion of Welsh heritage, culture, and the Welsh language, and was one of the only Welsh-speaking communities in the area. For many Welsh people, this was an attack on their Celtic heritage; Celtic cultures in Britain have historically not been treated well by the government, and Celtic people had faced discrimination for centuries.

Despite the Capel Celyn protests in Wales against the Tryweryn Valley flooding, and the fact that all the Welsh MPs except one voted against the plan, the British government approved it anyway, and construction of Capel Celyn Dam began. For Owain Williams, Emyr Llywelyn Jones, and John Albert Jones, this confirmed their view that England saw Wales as a colony. So they built an explosive device, snuck onto the Capel Celyn dam construction site, and detonated it beside an electrical transformer. Their goal was to send a message to the British government; "enough was enough".

The Capel Celyn bombing took the Britain by surprise, but after centuries of tension between the Welsh and English, many Welsh people supported it. Capel Celyn Dam was still finished, and the Welsh-speaking village is no more, replaced by Llyn Celyn reservoir. The damage done to Welsh heritage is irreversible. But Mudiad Amddiffyn Cymru's actions sparked a new wave of Welsh nationalism in the public, and triggered a Welsh nationalism movement that saw a surge in support for parties like Plaid Cymru and led to the formation of the Welsh parliament with Welsh devolution. So, the three Welsh nationalists who started MAC shaped history in Wales.

I met Owain Williams in Pistyll in Gwynedd, Wales. After his actions in 1963, he was a fugitive on the run, hiding from the police in England, Wales, and under the protection of the IRA once he arrived in Ireland. Today, he is an elected councillor and leader of the local Welsh political party, Llais Gwynedd. This is his story.

TMTW S2 E3 - Capel Celyn Documentary: Why this Welsh Nationalist Bombed a Dam - Remember Tryweryn & the Flooding of Capel Celyn

00:00-00:55 - The Men who Bombed Capel Celyn Dam
00:58-02:13 - Capel Celyn: The Welsh Village Flooded by Liverpool
02:14-03:33 - Mudiad Amddiffyn Cymru: Movement for the Defence of Wales
03:34-06:09 - The Bombing of Capel Celyn
06:10-06:54 - The Arrests of Emyr, Owain, and John.
06:55-07:34 - What Motivated the Tryweryn Triad? "Wales was just a Colony"
07:35-08:46 - Tension Between the Welsh and English
08:47-09:28 - Owain's Endgame: The Independence of Wales from the UK
09:29-10:57 - John Jenkins Takes over MAC
10:58-14:36 - Owain Goes on the Run
14:37-17:03 - Mental Scars from Owain's Time in Prison
17:04-19:33 - Where are the Tryweryn Triad now?

#Wales #Tryweryn #CapelCelyn #cymruambyth #welshnationalism #welshpeople