IN a special ceremony from the stage at the White Pavilion in Margam, it was revealed that Elain Roberts, originally from Pentre’r Bryn, Ceredigion is Main Bard at Eisteddfod yr Urdd Dur a Môr, Parc Margam a’r Fro.

Elain is the first to have won the Drama Medal (in 2023) and the Chair at the Urdd Eisteddfod. And for the first time in the history of the competition, the chair has been won by women for three consecutive years.

A former pupil at Ysgol Bro Teifi, Elain studied French and Politics at the University in Bristol and after graduating, she moved back home to work. In February this year, Elain moved to London to start a new job with Plaid Cymru in Westminster.

Elain won the Drama Medal at the 2023 Urdd Eisteddfod, and she came third in the Crown competition in 2022. She only recently became interested in poetry after attending classes at the Vale pub in Felin-fach last year.

The competitors were tasked with composing a poem or poems on strict metre or vers libre, of no more than 100 lines on the theme: ‘Sand’.

Elain's poem is located on Traeth Gwyn (Llanina, Ceinewydd), a location that played a key part in her upbringing and where she still visits today to find tranquillity

The judges, Tudur Hallam and Grug Muse stated that Elain is more than worthy of this year's Eisteddfod Chair for “a poem that grips the reader from the beginning and keeps a hold until the very end.”

“We are in safe hands with this poet. The story is familiar, the story of a young Welsh speaker leaving the countryside for city life, the beach is a medium to explore the feelings and experiences associated with this. The poet succeeds in expressing mixed emotions, sharing with us the experience of settling and being happy in an English city.”

Tesni Peers from Wrexham came second and Celt John from Aberystwyth was third. Their work will be published on the Urdd website today. The winning work along with the adjudication will be available to read in Cyhoeddiadau’r Stamp publications after the ceremony. The ceremony was sponsored by the Ivor and Aeres Evans Charitable Trust.

Elain receives a beautiful chair created by Angharad Pearce Jones from the Brynaman area, sponsored by Soar-Maesyrhaf Chapel.

Speaking of the experience of creating the Eisteddfod yr Urdd Dur a Môr, Parc Margam a’r Fro, Angharad said: “Creating this year’s chair has been a wonderful privilege and a dream come true. I'm lucky that I had the last piece of Welsh iron ore from Tata’s works for the chair, and I was determined to create a chair that felt positive – a celebration rather than a sad symbol of the past.”

The top three will be invited to take part in a course at Tŷ Newydd Writing Centre, Literature Wales, in memory of Olwen Dafydd. This is made possible through the Olwen Griffith Trust.

It is 30 years since, Tudur Hallam, one of the judges, won the Literature Medal at Eisteddfod yr Urdd Bro'r Preseli 1995 for a collection of poems, Blith Draphlith (topsy-turvy).

Results for all competitions can be found on s4c.cymru/urdd