Hywel Dda (c.880 – 950) created the kingdom of Deheubarth and eventually came to rule most of Wales.  His name is particularly linked with the codification of Welsh law, which was thenceforth known as the Laws of Hywel Dda.

A timeline of the life of Hywel Dda; 

880  Hywel was born, the son of King Cadell of Seisyllwg.  

904  Hywel gained control of Dyfed, through his marriage to Elen, the kingdoms only surviving heir.

911  Cadell died and Seisyllwg was divided between Hywel and his elder brother, Clydog.

918  As rulers of Seisyllwg, Hywel and Clydog, submitted to Edward the Elder of England

920  Clydog died, leaving the whole realm to Hywel, who joined Seisyllwg and Dyfed into a single realm known as Deheubarth.

928  Hywel was a well-educated man, having a good knowledge of Welsh, Latin, and English and made a pilgrimage to Rome, becoming the first Welsh prince to undertake such a trip. Upon his return, he forged very close relations with King Athelstan of England, who allowed Hywel  to use the mint at Chester to produce his own coinage, the first Welsh ruler to do so for at least a thousand years. 

942  Hywel claimed himself as ruler of Gwynedd and Powys, when Idwal Foel, King of Gwynedd and his brother Elisedd were killed in battle with the English King Edmund. 

c. 940 – 945   As ruler of most of Wales, Hywel was able to pursue the accomplishment for which he is best known: the codification of Welsh law.  At a conference held at Ty Gwyn ar Daf, an occasional residence of Hywel's near Whitland, Carmarthenshire, Welsh law was set down in writing.  According to tradition, much of the work was done by the celebrated clerk, Blegywryd and deposited at Dinefwr Castle. 

950 Following Hywel's death, his kingdom was soon split, with Gwynedd  being reclaimed by Idwal Foel's sons while Deheubarth was divided between Hywel's sons.  However, his legacy survived in his laws, which were still in use until the implementation of Henry VIII's  Laws in Wales Acts 1535-1542.

The Frongoch internment camp in Merionethshire,which held 1,863 Irish prisoners following the Irish Republican Easter Rising, was shut down on 23rd December 1916. 

Until 1916, the abandoned distillery had housed German prisoners of war, but they were moved to accommodate the junior officers and rank-and-file members of the Irish Republican movement, which included such notables as Michael Collins and Arthur Griffith.  British authorities had previously executed 15 of the leaders of the rising, including  Patrick Pearse and James Connolly and the surviving leaders were sent to high-security prisons. 

The camp however became a breeding ground for the revolution, with Collins, for example, giving impromptu lessons in guerilla tactics.  Indeed, Fron-goch transformed the rebel army into the driving force behind the subsequent Irish War of Independence. 

Prisoners were permitted to  exercise with route marches across the Welsh countryside, organise fancy dress competitions, seasonal games at Halloween and sporting challenge matches. A typical example was the athletics day, in which Collins won the 100 yard race in 10.8 seconds.,

The region of Wales in which the Irish prisoners found themselves ironically bore many similarities to Ireland.  The local population had also suffered from evictions and enforced emigration and soon after established a Land Commission modelled on the Land League instigated by Michael Davitt in Ireland, even inviting Davitt to address a meeting at Blanau Ffestiniog.  

The Welsh in Liverpool 

John Edward Jones (Ioan Maesgrug) was born in Liverpool to Welsh parents on 23rd December 1914.  He was educated in Liverpool before training as a barrister and becoming a  circuit judge in 1969 

He was active in many Welsh circles in Liverpool, serving as president of the Liverpool Choral Society, president of the Merseyside Branch of the Red Cross, a Fellow of the Merseyside Eisteddfod and a Moderator of the Liverpool presbyterian church.  He was a member of the Gorsedd of Bards taking the name ‘Ioan Maesgrug’ and had a particular interest in the history of the Welsh in Liverpool and published many books on the subject. 

There a strong links between Liverpool and North Wales,  indeed its very name is thought to have come from 'Lle'r pwll' - that is 'the place of the pool'.  The Welsh travel for work, shopping, cultural events and nights out, while many Liverpudlians holiday in north Wales resorts.  This is illustrated by the large number of Welsh surnames still evident in the city, such as Hughes, Williams and Owens.  The city centre's Pall Mall was known as 'Little Wales' and a chapel built in Toxteth was for a long time the largest Welsh Chapel in the world.  However, not everyone not everyone has fond feelings about the links, as illustrated by the infamous attack on the Welsh by Anne Robinson, who is from Liverpool.

There was a huge growth in rural to urban migration across the whole of the UK during the 19th century and  Liverpool experienced dynamic industrialization and rapid urban development.  The port became one of the world‟s largest and most important seaports, known as “Europe‟s gateway to the Atlantic” with a financial and commercial centre that was second only to London.  Welsh Slate had been traditionally shipped from Liverpool and as the port grew it attracted many people from the North Wales in search of work.  So much so that by 1813, around 10% of Liverpool's residents were Welsh and it became known as  the unofficial 'Capital of North Wales'.  A combination of factors including the proximity, the language, the chapel infrastructure and business success interacted to create a culturally rich and politically active Welsh community in the city, so much so that The National Eisteddfod was been held in Liverpool - 1840 - 1854 - 1884 - 1900 and 1929.   

A Child's Christmas in Wales by Dylan Thomas, published in 1955, is a story in which Thomas recreates the nostalgic magic of a childhood Christmas as though it were a fairy tale and how modern Christmases are not as good as the ones of his youth when for example, It was always snowing.   

Anselm Marshal (died 23 December 1245 at Chepstow Castle and was buried in Tintern Abbey). He was the sixth Earl of Pembroke (of the second creation), the youngest and last of the five sons of William Marshal 1st Earl of Pembroke, to hold that title.

His death is notable in the fact that it marked the extinction of the male line of the Marshall family and was credited to a curse the Bishop of Ferns, Ailbe Ua Maíl Mhuaidh put on the family in 1218, over a dispute about two manors belonging to him in Ireland that William Marshal, had seized.