1979 in Wales

This article is about the particular significance of the year 1979 to Wales and its people.

← 1978 1977 1976 1975 1974 1979 in Wales → 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984
Centuries:	18th 19th 20th 21st
Decades:	1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s
See also:	List of years in Wales 1979 in The United Kingdom Ireland Scotland

Incumbents

• Prince of Wales – Charles
• Princess of Wales – vacant
• Secretary of State for Wales – John Morris (until 5 May); Nicholas Edwards
• Archbishop of Wales – Gwilym Williams, Bishop of Bangor
• Archdruid of the National Eisteddfod of Wales – Geraint

Events

• 1 March - The devolution referendum rejects the Wales Act 1978 (which would have established a Welsh Assembly) by four to one. The Parliamentary Select Committee on Welsh Affairs is subsequently established.[1]
• 7 June - In the elections for the European Parliament, Ann Clwyd and Win Griffiths are among the newly elected MEPs. Plaid Cymru win no seats.
• 8 June - A Cessna aircraft crashes into a mountain in Snowdonia, killing all six occupants.
• 12 December - Four holiday homes in rural Wales are the target of arson attacks by Welsh Nationalist political activists.
• Annie Powell of Rhondda becomes Britain's first Communist mayor.

Arts and literature

Awards

• Michael Bogdanov is named "Director of the Year" for the Royal Shakespeare Company production of The Taming of the Shrew.
• National Eisteddfod of Wales (held in Caernarfon)
  • National Eisteddfod of Wales: Chair - withheld
  • National Eisteddfod of Wales: Crown - Meirion Evans
  • National Eisteddfod of Wales: Prose Medal - Robyn Lewis

New books

English language

• Gillian Clarke - The Sundial
• Wendy Davies - The Llandaff Charters
• Christopher Evans - The Mighty Micro
• Emyr Humphreys - The Best of Friends
• Sian James - A Small Country
• Tristan Jones - The Incredible Voyage
• Anna Kashfi - Brando for Breakfast
• Leslie Norris - Sliding
• Gwyn Alf Williams - The Merthyr Rising
• Raymond Williams - The Fight for Manod

Welsh language

• Pennar Davies - Mabinogi Mwys[2]
• Marion Eames - I Hela Cnau
• Dic Jones - Storom Awst
• John Rowlands - Tician, Tician

Music

• Dave Edmunds - Repeat When Necessary (album)
• Bonnie Tyler - Diamond Cut (album)

Film

• Rachel Roberts wins the BAFTA award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Yanks.
• Emlyn Williams' play, The Corn is Green, is filmed for the second time, starring Katharine Hepburn.

Broadcasting

• BBC Radio Cymru is launched.
• New Home Secretary William Whitelaw rejects the idea of a Welsh fourth channel on behalf of the Conservative government.

English-language television

• Colin Jeavons stars in Dennis Potter's classic play, Blue Remembered Hills.[3]

Sport

• Boxing - Pat Thomas wins the British Light-middleweight title
• Rugby union - Wales win the Five Nations Championship and take the Triple Crown.
• Snooker - Terry Griffiths wins the World Championship in his first year as a professional.[4]

Births

• 21 February – Laura Anne Jones AM, politician
• 26 February – Steve Evans, footballer
• 15 April - Luke Evans, actor
• 17 May – Michaela Breeze, weightlifting champion
• 3 June – Christian Malcolm, athlete
• 4 June – Celyn Jones, actor
• 13 July – Craig Bellamy, footballer
• 1 August- Honeysuckle Weeks. actor
• 8 August – Danny Gabbidon, footballer
• Jonathan Edwards, poet

Deaths

• January – Dilys Cadwaladr, poet, 76
• 7 February – Charles Tunnicliffe, painter on Anglesey, 77[5]
• 13 March – Tudor Owen, actor, 81[6]
• 15 April (in Surrey) – Eiluned Lewis, novelist, 78[7]
• 14 May – Jean Rhys, novelist, 88
• 9 June – John Morris, Baron Morris of Borth-y-Gest, judge, 82
• 2 September – Ewan Davies, rugby player, 92[8]
• 10 October (in Teddington) – Christopher Evans, computer scientist, 48[9]
• 12 December – Goronwy Rees, writer, 70?[10]
• 20 December - Leslie Gilbert Illingworth, political cartoonist, 77
• 21 December – Nansi Richards, harpist, 91[11]
• 29 December – Richard Tecwyn Williams, biochemist, 70
• date unknown
  • Hugh Bevan, academic
  • Dilys Davies, actress
  • Harold Finch, politician
  • Trebor Lloyd Evans, writer[12]
  • Jennie Thomas, children's author

See also

• 1979 in Northern Ireland

References

1. Governing the UK in the 1990s. Macmillan International Higher Education. 20 March 1995. pp. 214. ISBN 978-1-349-23899-6.
2. Studia Celtica. University of Wales Press. 1983.
3. W. Stephen Gilbert (1 January 2002). The Life and Work of Dennis Potter. The Overlook Press. p. 321. ISBN 978-1-4683-0561-6.
4. "Profile: Terry Griffiths". Eurosport. 3 February 2010. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
5. Birds. Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. 1980.
6. Scott Wilson (17 August 2016). Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed. McFarland. p. 569. ISBN 978-0-7864-7992-4.
7. Who was who. A. & C. Black. 1971. p. 467.
8. scrum.com profile
9. The Skeptical Inquirer. Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal. 1979. p. 11.
10. "Goronwy Rees (1909-1979)". From Warfare to Welfare. Archived from the original on 21 February 2015. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
11. Evans, Nia Gwyn (2016). "Jones, Nansi Richards ('Telynores Maldwyn ') (1888-1979), harpist". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
12. Robert Tudur Jones (2004). Congregationalism in Wales. University of Wales Press. ISBN 978-0-7083-1887-4.