Cathedral funeral for ex-Senedd presiding officer

The funeral of the former Plaid Cymru leader and the Senedd’s first Presiding Officer, Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas, will take place on Friday.

Hundreds of mourners are expected to attend the service at Cardiff’s Llandaff Cathedral, including senior politicians past and present.

Lord Elis-Thomas passed away on 7 February aged 78 following a short illness.

The former culture minister represented Dwyfor Meirionnydd in Cardiff Bay for 22 years, having previously spent 18 years as an MP.

First Minister Eluned Morgan will give a reading at the service whilst opera singer Gwyn Hughes Jones will also perform.

The eulogy will be delivered by Lord Elis-Thomas’ friend and biographer Aled Eirug.

Following the service, the funeral cortege will pass the Senedd in Cardiff Bay where he served as Presiding Officer – the Llywydd – for the first 12 years of devolution.

At the time of his death, the current Llywydd Elin Jones described Lord Elis-Thomas as the Senedd’s “founding father”.

“He became the keeper of the Welsh constitution but was always prepared to think outside the box,” she said.

Lord Elis-Thomas was one of only three Welsh politicians to have served in the House of Commons, the House of Lords and in Cardiff Bay.

He was a Plaid Cymru MP between 1974 and 1992 – serving as the party’s leader between 1984 and 1991.

He was later part of the Plaid Cymru group in Cardiff Bay but left the party in 2016 to sit as an independent member.

The following year he joined Carwyn Jones’ Labour government as the minister for culture, sport and tourism.

Lord Elis-Thomas stood down from the Senedd in 2021.