Cofiwch Dryweryn: Charity set up to protect memorial

The wall was rebuilt and repainted by volunteers after it was vandalised twice in 2019

A charity will be set up to protect a mural which commemorates the drowning of a Welsh village after it was damaged twice in a year by vandals.

The Cofiwch Dryweryn graffiti, near Aberystwyth, has been bought by Dilys Davies, who said a charity called Tro'r Trai will take charge of protecting it.

Volunteers have repaired the wall on the two occasions it has been damaged.

It was painted in the 1960s after Capel Celyn, Gwynedd, was drowned to create a reservoir for Liverpool.

The action was widely regarded as a turning point in the Welsh nationalist and language movements.

• Tryweryn - The drowning of a village

• Smashed tribute to drowned village rebuilt

• Drowned village mural vandalism re-painted

But the graffiti - meaning remember Tryweryn - was painted over with the word "Elvis" in February, before the wall was damaged again in April.

Volunteers from Aberystwyth stepped in to help repair the wall in April

Elvis was painted over the original graffiti in February

Ceredigion assembly member Elin Jones said: "My thanks go to the farmers who have looked after the wall for 50 years before transferring it to Dilys Davies who will now ensure its safety and how it is interpreted in the future."

Ms Davies said: "I, like so many others, felt angry and hurt when the symbolic Cofiwch Dryweryn wall was damaged twice earlier this year. It led me to think of what I could do.

"The wall will be transferred to a charity called Tro'r Trai whose purpose is to promote our Welsh language and culture.

"This will ensure a secure future for the wall, and the monument will be preserved by the charity for good."

A tribute to the Cofiwch Dryweryn mural near Llangollen was defaced by swastikas

Dozens of tributes to the mural have been painted in the months since the wall was vandalised - with one even appearing in Chicago.

One of the pieces, on the A5 near Llangollen, Denbighshire, was defaced with swastikas on Monday night.

Huw Stephens: Cofiwch Dryweryn will be shown on S4C on Thursday 8 August at 21:30 BST.