Dafydd Iwan

In January 2020, Iwan's song "Yma o Hyd" ("Still Here") reached number one in the UK iTunes chart, spurred on by purchases by supporters of Welsh independence group YesCymru. The campaign mirrored the success of the Wolfe Tones song "Come Out, Ye Black and Tans" earlier that month.

On 22 October 2011, Dafydd and his wife Bethan came to watch the Welsh derby, Wrexham F.C. vs Newport County A.F.C. Dafydd sang his hit song "Yma O Hyd" in front of a crowd of 4,000 before the teams came out. He was invited to sing by the new Wrexham FC Supporters Group, who chose their name "Yma O Hyd" after his song.

Formerly a Plaid Cymru councillor in Gwynedd, he lost his seat in the May 2008 local elections. He blamed his defeat on a dirty tricks campaign by his opponents.

As part of his campaign seeking re-election as President of Plaid Cymru, Iwan launched a campaign blog Dafydd 4 President in July 2008.

Iwan escaped a driving ban (for speeding offences) in October 2003 on the basis that he needed to drive for his musical and political duties.

In 1982 and 1983, Iwan embarked on two tours (and accompanying records) with the folk group Ar Log.

"Yma O Hyd" ("Still Here") was released in 1981 to “raise the spirits, to remind people we still speak Welsh against all odds. To show we are still here". Since then, the song has become an unofficial Welsh anthem as well as an unofficial anthem for the Wales national football team.

Using his architecture studies, in 1971 Iwan was one of the founders of Cymdeithas Tai Gwynedd (Gwynedd Housing Association) and was involved in other projects to provide homes for the local population in north-west Wales.

Iwan's long service to the Welsh language led to his being made an honorary member of the Gorsedd of Bards at the National Eisteddfod at Bangor in 1971.

During the 1970s, his political interests (and songs) took in such themes as Pinochet's Chile, Welsh devolution, the Vietnam War and the Northern Ireland troubles. Later songs mention events such as the Tiananmen Square massacre (1989), the Gulf War (1990) and opencast mining in the south Wales valleys (1995).

Iwan's earliest material was Welsh translations of songs by American folk/protest singers (Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, and Bob Dylan) until he began to write his first ballads. The most prominent of these were political, including the satirical song, "Carlo" ("Charles"). This was written for the investiture of the Prince of Wales in 1969. Iwan has also written love ballads and variations on traditional Welsh folk tunes.

By the late 1960s, he was receiving television coverage both for his music and for his political activities as a member of Cymdeithas yr Iaith. He was imprisoned in 1970 for his refusal to pay fines for defacing English-language road signs as part of the fight for Welsh-language rights, serving three weeks of a three-month sentence. This event was commemorated in his song "Pam fod eira'n wyn?" ("Why is snow white?"). His song "Peintio'r byd yn wyrdd" ("Painting the World Green") was regarded as a "battle hymn" of the road signs campaign.

The song was also sung live by Dafydd Iwan before Wales' last two games of their first successful FIFA World Cup qualification since 1958. Gareth Bale, the Welsh captain also led the Welsh team singing along with Dafydd Iwan after the final match. The performance and Wales's qualification led to the song returning to number one in the UK iTunes chart.

Dafydd Iwan Jones (born 24 August 1943) is a Welsh singer and nationalist politician who rose to fame writing and performing folk music in the Welsh language. From 2003 to 2010, Iwan was the president of Plaid Cymru, a political party which advocates for Welsh independence from the UK.