Love Wrexham Magazine - Issue 3 - September 2019

Books
Porth y Byddar (The Door of the Deaf) by Manon Eames
Book review by John Morris
This excellent documentary
novel brings to life one of the
critical events in Welsh history:
the creation of the Tryweryn
Dam to provide water for
Liverpool Corporation by the
drowning of the village of Cwm
Celyn.
The author sets the scene
following a brilliant introduction
when she notes that all the
homesteads and families are
soundly asleep on the Monday
night a week before Christmas
in 1955 after which their lives will
never be the same again.
The memorable
scenario in the chapel
as one of the elders,
Dafydd Roberts,
reveals the plans to
drown the village to the
faithful congregation.
He asks them to stay
together and that
with the promises of
support from a range
of agencies, he tells
them that he and the
other congregation
leaders are confident
that they can succeed
in getting Liverpool
Corporation to rethink
their plans once they realise the
consequences of their actions.
One can picture how emotional
Dafydd is as he addresses the
congregation in his belief that his
trust in his faith, love for his way
of life and social justice will be on
their side.
She contrasts this with the
New Year celebrations of
two of the leading Liverpool
councillors, Frank Cain and John
Braddock, and the New Year
1996 discussions of a group of
students in Neuadd Pantycelyn.
The author initiates an in-depth
analysis of the problems facing
24
those who wish to challenge
Liverpool Corporation.
We read about the inept Welsh
speakers who have forsaken the
language and those who do not
want to start a “commotion” and
wish to challenge by acceptable
constitutional methods. In
contrast, she focuses on the
group in the college who see the
use of alternative unconstitutional
action as the only way forward.
Readers will become emotionally
involved as the characters in
the village of Capel Celyn and
neighbouring
areas prepare
to protest on
the march
in Liverpool.
Manon Eames
highlights the
insensitive
attitudes of
the councillors
in Liverpool
as they pour
scorn on the
efforts of
Gwynfor Evans
in his attempts
to change their
plans to flood
the village.
The reader becomes emotionally
involved as the author focuses
on the efforts of first language
Welsh speakers in their efforts
to write letters, in English, to the
officials at Liverpool Corporation,
for them to gain insight and
understanding of the feelings of
the residents of Capel Celyn.
The author brilliantly portrays
the emotional stress suffered
by the Capel Celyn residents
as Elizabeth Riley, a girl from
Capel Celyn who works with
Liverpool Corporation, becomes
the personal assistant to Mr
Braddock. She is given the
job of typing invitations to the
Inauguration of the Reservoir
Llyn Celyn on 21st October,
1965. One of the other office
assistants notices she is crying.
She asks Elizabeth if she is
alright to which Elizabeth replies:
“Yes, just something in my eye”.
I am sure that when they read
this, many readers will shed a
tear in common with Elizabeth at
how the residents of Capel Celyn
were treated.
It is within the chapter on
Tystiolaeth (Evidence) that
the author drives home to the
reader that protests by small
communities against the actions
of powerful companies or
conurbations are doomed to
failure without political change
to back them up. Faith, love
and connections are inadequate
against political and multinational
company power.
Ms Eames has produced a
powerful novel based on actual
events which directly affected
the lives of the residents of Capel
Celyn. The resultant impact of
the flooding of the valley and the
disbursement of residents, many
of whom had rented farms and
houses from the Rhiwlas Estate,
resulted in a massive attitude
change by the Welsh people
to political authority. Groups
developed who were determined
to take up the challenge to
achieve parity for the Welsh
language and the goal of
devolution. The resultant growth
in the use of the Welsh language
in everyday life, schools and
commerce undoubtedly resulted
from the suffering of the residents
of Capel Celyn and insensitive
destruction of a Welsh-speaking
community.
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