Ciarán is the winner of the chair at Denbigh Urdd Eisteddfod

In a special ceremony from the Cyfrwy stage at the Denbigh Urdd Eisteddfod it was revealed that Ciarán Eynon, originally from Rhos-on-Sea, Conwy and now living in London, is 2022 Denbighshire Urdd Eisteddfod’s Chief Bard.

After completing his A-Levels at Ysgol y Creuddyn, Penrhyn Bay he went on to study mathematics at Warwick University and then a Welsh and Celtic Studies MA at Cardiff University.

Ciarán came second in the main poetry prize competition and third in the main prose prize competition at the 2021 Eisteddfod T.

He is also a familiar face on the stage, winning the individual recitation competition at the Anglesey National Eisteddfod in 2017 and AmGen Eisteddfod in 2021.

He was the first editor of ‘Ffosfforws’ in 2021 – a new poetry journal published by Y Stamp magazine.

In second place was Gruff Gwyn from Machen, Caerphilly, and third place went to Tegwen Bruce-Deans from Llandrindod.

Gruff won the youngster prize at this year’s Cardiff Chair Eisteddfod, and Tegwen came third in the chair competition at last year’s Eisteddfod T.

In keeping with the new format for the main ceremonies, the judges Eurig Salisbury and Peredur Lynch were joined on the stage by the three finalists.

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

The three finalists

A response to the pandemic, grappling with parents’ divorce and sexuality were the themes of the top three poems.

The two judges were unanimous in their decision that Ciarán is “without any doubt, the best poet in the competition”.

The Judges said: “The main feature of the competition this year was the amazing variety of poetic voices that we had to judge, and this was obvious in terms of measures, style and view of the world.

“Their (Ciarán’s) talent was evident from beginning to end.

"They have a firm grasp on the language, the ability to vary linguistic styles and a strong awareness of the rhythmic foundation of vers libre.

"In the opening lines we are introduced in the third person to a poet and the poet grapples with two things, their sexuality and, in their opinion, the inability of the Welsh language – their raw material as a poet – to express that sexuality.

“This is a poet who feels that the Welsh language doesn’t speak the language of Ru Paul.

"By the end of the poem, however, with the poet now openly acknowledging their sexuality, it is suggested that they no longer need to seek an alternative path or reject the Welsh language as a creative medium. And in this realisation, we arrive at the ‘thank you’ theme set by the competition.”

This year's chair

Ciarán receives a beautiful chair created by carpenter Rhodri Owen, given by Ysgol Uwchradd Glan Clwyd.

The ceremony was sponsored by the Ivor and Aeres Evans Charitable Trust.

Speaking of the experience of creating the Urdd Eisteddfod chair in the organisation’s centenary year, Rhodri said: “I wanted to note the Urdd’s centenary in a subtle way that was also relevant to the region – the Ogham marks on the hind legs are inspired by the Rhyd y Beddau standing stone, near Clocaenog, a rare example of the Ogham in Wales.

"The marks on the chair count to 100 and spell Sir Ddinbych on both sides.

"The bottom panel is in the shape of part of the Clwydian Range and the colourful markings on the largest panel denotes the area’s vibrant youth in the shape of a river flow.

READ: Duo celebrate success at Denbigh Urdd Eisteddfod

"I see these colours running through the beech like the River Clwyd’s source on Hiraethog before running from one end of the County to the other.”

The top three will be invited to take part in a course at Ty Newydd Writing Centre in memory of Olwen Dafydd.

This is made possible through the Olwen Griffith Trust.

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