Eisteddfod yr Urdd celebrates first female winner of two Chairs

Nation Cymru staff

In a historic ceremony held today, it was announced that Lois Medi has won the Chair prize for poetry at Eisteddfod yr Urdd Ynys Môn 2026 – her second chair win.

Lois, who is originally from Penrhosgarnedd, Bangor, won the Chair in 2024 at Eisteddfod yr Urdd Maldwyn, making her the first woman ever in the history of the competition to win the chair twice, and the first person to achieve this since Gwynfor Dafydd in 2016-17.

Lois is originally from Penrhosgarnedd, Bangor, but she is currently living and working in Patagonia. She is a former pupil of Ysgol Gynradd y Garnedd, Bangor, where she won her first Eisteddfod Chair. Lois attended Ysgol Tryfan, Bangor, and Ysgol David Hughes, Porthaethwy, before graduating from LSE in Social Anthropology.

Lois said: “Since childhood, creative writing has been a delight. Poetry is a such a special medium, it brings order to my thoughts about the world around me. I would like to thank everyone who has supported and encouraged me to express my creativity, especially my parents, my sisters Marged and Sara, and my partner, Iestyn.”

Lois was awarded the D. Gwyn Evans Trophy by Cymdeithas Barddas in 2024, and in the same year she was chaired at Eisteddfod yr Urdd in Maldwyn.

Lois has had poems published in Ffosfforws, O Ffrwyth y Gangen Hon and Barddas. Her winning work at Eisteddfod yr Urdd Maldwyn was published by Cyhoeddiadau’r Stamp as part of the Urdd’s partnership to publish the winning works from the main literary competitions. She is very excited to have this valuable opportunity again this year and offers her sincere gratitude to the Stamp team for their hard work.

In Patagonia last year, Lois won the Trevelin Eisteddfod Chair and the Harp Award, the main literary prize at the Porth Madryn Eisteddfod.

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 ‘Bridge’. Twelve entries were received this year. Lois’s poem explores the bridge between real life and the world of technology. Judges Manon Wynn Davies and Rocet Arwel Jones said that Lois’s work was worthy of the Eisteddfod Chair this year because “every poem in the collection is mature and contemporary and deserves its place, offering incisive and timely commentary on today’s society.”

Nanw Maelor from Mold came second and Steffan Rhys Nicholas from Aberystwyth was third. 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.

Siôn Edwards from Llanfaelog in Anglesey is the carpenter responsible for this year’s Chair, based on a design by Caerwen-based architect Rhiannon Williams of DEWIS architecture, with sponsorship from the Anglesey Agricultural Society. Rhiannon’s design was based on the theme ‘rivers to the sea’ and also featured the island’s windmills.
The first, second and third prize-winners in the literary competitions throughout the week will have the opportunity to attend the Olwen Course at Tŷ Newydd Writing Centre, Literature Wales, in memory of Olwen Dafydd. This is made possible through the sponsorship of the Olwen Griffith Trust.

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