LSW at the Eisteddfod 2025
We are going to have a strong presence at this year’s Eisteddfod in Wrexham. Here are the events we are running and taking part in.
Tuesday 5th August
10:30-11:30, ‘The theologian from Wrecsam: CH Dodd – His life and contribution to Biblical scholarship’ | Cymdeithasau 1
The lecture will trace the life of C. H. Dodd from the period of his childhood in Wrecsam (focussing on the influence of home, school, and chapel) to his appointment to the Chairs in the Universities of Manchester and Cambridge. Speaker: Professor Eryl Wynn Davies FLSW
10:30-12:30, Bangor University Tent
Anglesey is home to a wide variety of spectacular species, ranging from large to small. The landscapes and features formed over 860 million years, offer a unique context for teaching and research in the School of Ocean Sciences, Bangor University. At the Eisteddfod in Wrexham this year we will be launching an exhibition banner that showcases Anglesey’s unique biodiversity and landscapes. Learn about the globally unique landscapes and geological features that have formed over 860 million years and the rich biodiversity that now occupies them. Take the chance to learn the name of one or two new species in Welsh!
13:30, ‘Sex: Sexual health in the 21st century’ | Lloeren, Science and Technology Village
Question and answer session with Dr Ffraid Gwenllïan and Professor Olwen Williams FLSW about sexual health in the 21st century, ond how social media plays a vital part in the process of spreading information and awareness.
15:00, ‘Creating doctors from Wales, for Wales’ | Bangor University Stand
Panel discussion with Professor Angharad Davies FLSW, Swansea University , Dr Nia Jones, Dean of North Wales Medical School, and Dyfed Edwards, Chair of Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, among others. The panel will be chaired by Marian Wyn Jones, Chair of Council, Bangor University.
15:00, ‘Perceptions of the environment in the age of Gerald of Wales’ | Cymdeithasau 1
Syr Thomas Parry-Williams Annual Remembrance Lecture, The Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion
Wednesday 6th August
10.30, ‘From Morgan Llwyd to Lewis Valentine: the hymn-writers and carol-writers of the Eisteddfod area’ | Cymdeithasau
Annual Lecture of the Welsh Hymn Society by Professor E. Wyn James FLSW. A warm welcome to all.
11:30, ‘Why is Wales worth studying?’
Organised by the Learned Society of Wales. Held at Wrexham University Tent.
– Professor Rhys Jones FLSW, Aberystwyth University
– Prof Elin Haf Gruffydd Jones, Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies
– Further panellists TBC
Wales Studies is research about Wales, for Wales. It is an interdisciplinary field and encompasses all areas of enquiry – our language, our culture, our geography, our people, and more.
How can Wales Studies best serve Wales? Why is it so important that we study Wales? What kind of research is included in Wales studies? Is there a place for Wales Studies outside Wales? What are the most urgent research questions in Wales Studies today? This panel will address these questions and more, drawing from a range of areas of scholarship.
The session will also offer opportunities for the audience to take part in the conversation driving the future of the field, and to engage with the Wales Studies initiative going forward.
13:00, ‘Disability in Wales: Language, Education and Communication‘ – organised with Wrexham University.
Organised by the Learned Society of Wales Early Career Researchers Network. Held at Wrexham University Tent.
– Professor Sara Elin Roberts FLSW, Independent Scholar and Honorary Professor at the School of Welsh, Bangor University
– Dr Emily Lowthian, Swansea University
– Marjorie Thomas, Cardiff Metropolitan University
– Rebecca Day, Bangor University
The session will discuss different aspects of disability in Wales, with a focus on what is being done to recognise the challenges faced by children and people with different disabilities, and to ensure everyone is included in the education system and the Welsh-medium world. The three speakers are specialists in different research fields, united by their focus on communication and promoting equal opportunities for all in education.
13:00, ‘The Parliaments of Owain Glyndŵr’ | Cymdeithasau 1
Lecture by Professor Gruffydd Aled Williams FLSW for Cymdeithas Carnhuanawc.
15:00, ‘More than words: Welsh language provision in healthcare’ | Lloeren, Science and Technology Village
Conversation with experts regarding the importance of the Welsh language in healthcare in Wales – chair: Professor Olwen Williams FLSW.
Thursday 7th August
10.30, ‘Wrexham and vicinity’s contribution to identity and the Welsh press on the American Continents: the life and contribution of R. J. Berwyn (editor of Y Brut), T. Owen Charles (editor of The Druid) and Sallie Evans-Surridge (editor of Y Drych)’ | Cymdeithasau 2
Annual Lecture of Cardiff University’s Centre for Welsh American Studies, by Professors E. Wyn James FLSW and Bill Jones. A warm welcome to all.
11:30 – 12:30, Meet the Learned Society of Wales | Lloeren, Science Village
Join the Learned Society of Wales at the Eisteddfod!
Are you headed to the Eisteddfod in Wrexham this August? You are warmly invited to join us at our ‘Meet the Learned Society of Wales’ drop in event in the Lloeren, Science Village between 11:30am-12:30pm.
This informal event will be an opportunity to meet with LSW staff and Fellows along with other individuals and organisations who are interested in research and its impact in Wales.
This is a drop-in session and there is no obligation to sign up. However, we would appreciate an indication of numbers for refreshments. More information and booking here.
13.30-14:30, ‘Energy Dilemma: Our Conflicting Priorities‘ – LSW Eisteddfod lecture – Professor Gareth Wyn Jones FLSW
Our annual lecture is being delivered by Professor Gareth Wyn Jones FLSW in the Sfferen, Science Village.
Without energy, the fate of all creatures and all civilization is to ‘slip back into the great stillness’.
Fundamental to the history of humanity are our efforts to secure more energy to carry out all our activities including processing information in our brains and our inventions and feeding us.
Since the Industrial Revolution and our ability to curb the energy in fossil fuels, we have seen a remarkable acceleration in our activity and power and in the standard of living of a significant percentage.
Can this continue? What are its implications? Is something amiss?
15:00-16:00: Eisteddfod 2025: Three Minute Research Competition – organised with Coleg Cymraeg
Can you explain your research to the public in less than three minutes? Can you do that with just ONE slide? Try it in our Three Minute Research competition.
The competition is organised by the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol and the Early Career Researchers Network of the Learned Society of Wales, and will be held at the National Eisteddfod on Thursday, 7 August at 3pm on the Coleg Cymraeg stand.
The event is open to any early-career researcher who has completed, or is currently working on, a project or thesis. More information here.
Friday 8th August
10:30, ‘Remembering Euros Bowen, Wrexham’s Classicist’ | Cymdeithasau 2
Professor Ceri Davies FLSW. Adran Glasurol Cymdeithas Cyn-fyfyrwyr Prifysgol Cymru.
A tribute to the priest-poet Euros Bowen (1904-88) and his creative interest in the world of the ancient Greeks and Romans. All welcome.
13:00, ‘Gofal ein Gwinllan’: Launch of Volume 3, with a lecture by Prof. D. Densil Morgan – Yr Eglwys yng Nghymru | Cymdeithasau 1
Volume 3 in the series Gofal ein Gwinllan, essays on the Church in Wales’s contribution to our literature, culture and history, edited by A. Cynfael Lake FLSW and D. Densil Morgan FLSW, will be launched at 1 p.m. Friday 8 August in the Cymdeithasau Tent 1 at the Wrexham National Eisteddfod. To correspond with that, Professor D. Densil Morgan FLSW will deliver a lecture entitled ‘Ysgeifiog, Lampeter and the Nation: the Contribution of Rowland Williams Ysgeifiog (1779-1854) and his son, Dr Rowland Williams, Lampeter (1817-70), to the history and literature of Wales’. Translation facilities will be available.
Saturday 9th August
13.30, ‘Ceiriog’s Folk-Songs’ | Tŷ Gwerin
A session organized by the Welsh Folk-Song Society, including a short talk by Professor E. Wyn James FLSW on the nursery rhymes collected by J. Ceiriog Hughes (1832–87).