Wall in memory of flooded village is daubed in graffiti
ANGER AS VANDALS DEFACE MESSAGE
VANDALS have defaced an iconic wall in an act of “utter hooliganism”.
A derelict wall at the side of the A487 near Llanrhystud near Aberystwyth, with the message “Cofiwch Dryweryn”, (Remember Tryweryn) painted on it has once again become the target of troublemakers who have spray painted the word “Elvis” over the original words.
The original message was first daubed on the wall back in the 1960s in reference to Capel Celyn, a village north west of Bala in Gwynedd in the Afon Tryweryn valley that was flooded to provide water for Liverpool 54 years ago.
It urges Welsh speakers to remember the destruction of a Welsh-speaking community and to safeguard the language.
The graffiti has since become an unofficial national landmark for locals who have long been campaigning for it to be preserved.
The wall has been targeted numerous times and in 2008, the words were altered to “Angofiwch Dryweryn” (forget Tryweryn).
It came under attack again in 2013 and twice in 2014.
After several attacks on the wall, a campaign was started in an attempt to safeguard the wall’s future.
Cllr Dilwyn Morgan, who serves as the councillor for Bala, says he is “totally disgusted” by the frequent defacing of the wall. He said: “The wall is a national icon and it should be safeguarded as a symbol of Welsh identity and Welsh icon for the future.
“It’s a disgrace that this has happened again, I just can’t understand the mentality of those behind it.
“This graffiti isn’t antiWelsh, it’s an act of utter hooliganism at its worst and I am disgusted.
“It’s a hell of a shame that this keeps happening, hopefully it will eventually be moved and put in a gallery to protect it.
“Thankfully they can work wonders these days so hopefully it can be touched up or re-painted because it really is art – I call it art because it’s been there for fifty odd years and it’s so significant and important to the area.”
For years campaigners have fought to save the wall.
Dafydd Lewis, from Welsh language campaign group Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg, previously stated: “Tryweryn was the catalyst really for the Welsh language movement in the ‘60s, it was a wake-up call for many and sparked the fight for justice and the future of the Welsh language.
“Many people have taken the mantle of painting the wall over the years – it is one of the few examples of nationalistic graffiti that we have and has essentially put Llanrhystud on the map.”
Mystery continues to surround the identity of the people who have carried out their restoration missions in the dead of night over generations on the monument.
But it was the late writer and critic Dr Meic Stephens who said he first sparked the trend.
“I wrote it,” he had previously said. “I clearly remember the night.”