We found the question—‘What does being Welsh mean to you?’ posted by this Redditor who wanted to uncover other’s beliefs about having a Welsh identity. While there are many people with their great grandfathers coming from Wales, or people living far away from Wales, what can it possibly take for them to prove their identity or be a part of their Welsh heritage? Here’s what people have to say:

1. I was born in Wales and have lived here all my life. I have a good job that requires UK-wide, and sometimes worldwide, travel, although I’m home-based, and effectively could live anywhere I want. But I have no wish to ever leave Wales. It’s home and always will be.

2. Some may put it down simply to being from this geographic region; others to having genetic and ancestral links to a group of people that have lived here for centuries.

3. The odds of any Welsh being immigrants from the Coal Times are super high. Best not to look down that route anyway, but come on.

4. During a road trip through Brittany this summer, we drove through a village named Landébia, which my French wife correctly deduced was a Breton form of Llandybie, which is just down the road from us. 

5. My mum spent time in Brittany on a French exchange. She found it easier to speak Welsh to the Breton grandmother than to speak French to the girl she was staying with. This has to do with immigration many centuries ago though. Following the Roman occupation of Britain, many native Britons were used from their lands by the invading Germanic peoples. They concentrated in modern-day Scotland, Ireland, Cornwall, Wales, and Brittany.

6. DNA testing has debunked that only the Welsh language was replaced, the people weren’t.

7. I’m from English parents so I probably have a different view to a lot of people. I also no longer live in Wales, as I’m at university up in Scotland. I didn’t grow up in a very close-knit community like I know some parts are, I grew up in an area mainly filled with old people. However, when I hear a Welsh accent it feels like there is someone I can speak to. In my (potentially wrong) opinion, we as the Welsh create a community we can trust no matter where we are.

8. I was born in Nottingham, parents were born in the West Midlands, but every single grandparent is Welsh. Am I Welsh? Am I English? Am I some kind of hideous mutant destined to never have a home? All I know is that although I’ve never lived in Wales, every time I go there it’s very familiar. Without wanting to get too twee, it genuinely feels like a home of sorts.

9. The language, the accent, the landscapes, the history, the hiraeth. Poetry, rugby. I love being Welsh and wouldn’t want it any other way. Plus we have the best flag in the world 

10. You’re Welsh or you’re not. I’m Welsh-born and bred. It’d be nice to think that people who come to live here learn the language. But no, I do not suggest that a Welshman or Welshwoman who doesn’t know the language makes them less Welsh.

11. 75% of our fellow countrymen do not know all of Welsh. The frustration of friends of mine who have lived here for several generations who do not speak Welsh is being considered lesser citizens by the Welsh speakers. This is probably one of the greatest issues this country has to face in reconciling its own national identity.

12. I am deeply in favour of all measures to promote the Welsh language, though not being a speaker myself. However non-Welsh speaking natives MUST feel included in the national discourse. Some small attempts at inclusiveness at the recent national eisteddfod in Cardiff were a small step on the right path.

13. There will always be more born and bred Welsh non-Welsh speakers than Welsh speakers, without even considering “foreigners”. Anyone who looks down on that even slightly or indirectly is an absolute tosser.

14. I was born and bred in Wales, I spent the first 18 years of my life growing up in the South Wales valleys, and although I’ve lived in England for the last 8 years I still feel connected to my Welsh roots. Any time someone picks me up on my accent, I beam with a smile, every time someone asks if I speak Welsh I bow my head in shame and answer “No but I wish I could,” and every time I cross the border to visit my family my heart bursts with joy and love for my home country. It is beautiful, unique, storied, and musically rich, and I hope I never lose my accent or my memories of growing up in my little valley village.

The friendly nature of Welsh people is immediately apparent whenever I’m back home, chatting to strangers on the bus or in the street, the resounding joy when the first notes to the national anthem or Calon Lan start playing and everyone starts to sing, and the shared feeling of community are all a large part of what being Welsh means to me.

15. Being Welsh to me is being from somewhere very close-knit, trustworthy and irreplaceable. It’s difficult to describe, but it feels like everyone in Wales is tied to one another somehow. Plus rugby, the size of the country and the language help to create our sense of togetherness, I think.

16. My parents moved to England a couple of years ago, and I wanted to leave because I was bored with the weather. The second I stepped away from Wales I wanted to return, and it’s been the same feeling for 4 years! Something special to hold on to I guess! Wales is unique in that aspect I think

17. I was not born Welsh but was brought up here all my life (born in England). I far more enjoy being Welsh than English. Yes, Liverpool is my heritage and all, but Welsh history, folklaw, fairy tales, the language and so on mean a lot to me. I wouldn’t swap being brought up in Wales with being brought up in any other country tbh. Love the language, and for the most part, I like the people who are not just cunts (you get them everywhere I aint singling out Wales, just I would rather spend my time around the better not cunty people), and the ones who are nice, are nice and I love speaking to them.

Also, the Eisteddfod was one of my favourite things growing up. I wish I could go to them again or even take part but it isn’t happening any time soon as I’ve lost touch with the gathering a bit. I love singing, creating art and even making poetry for my schools. Wom a few times which helps.

For me, I suppose, it’s just given me something extra in life. An extra language and the fact I was brought up here is by far one of the most creative countries I’m aware of is amazing for an artist like me where I can take inspiration from many places. Follow, music, the natural or manmade world. Hell dragons are one of my all-time favourite mythological beasts because of Wales.

18. Regardless of whether people think we should be inside or outside the EU or the UK, as I was born and raised and have lived in Wales all of my life and would very much like to continue living in Wales I want to do my best to see Wales prosper whilst still maintaining its identity.

19. Anyone can become Welsh. Anyone who says otherwise needs to take their bigot glasses off.

20. Celtic is not an ethnicity, it’s a cultural identity, the modern form of which has little to do with its ancient forms.

21. Welshness is a state of mind, not a genetic quotient.

22. What I’m trying to learn is what other Welsh people would use as criteria for whether someone is Welsh or not. But that’s like asking how long is a piece of string or how wet is water. You can’t quantify feelings.

23. I’m Welsh through and through. My dad was a Swansea jack (Royal Welsh Fusilier), my mum was a Belizean (British Honduras ) and I was born in Jamaica. We stayed there for 6 weeks and then came to Swansea. We’ve now been here for 65 years. My heart and soul are Welsh till I die.

24. I was born in New Zealand to Welsh parents. I grew up having a strange accent that isn’t particularly Kiwi and it isn’t Welsh. My Nan would always tell me stories of Wales and I have spent my entire life being somewhat conversational in Welsh and knowing as much of the culture as I could without actually living there (being surrounded by 100% Welsh family members). When I finally scraped up enough money to visit Wales when I was 20 I felt something that I had never felt in New Zealand. I felt at home.

25. I agree with others that it’s a mindset. Attribute it to genetics, the effect of language on our psyche, the landscape, the history, or simply random factors of chance, but I do believe we are significantly different and unique as a result. Not better or anything like that, just different.

26. It’s somewhat intangible and that’s part of the beauty of it. I’ve lived most of my adult life in London before moving back home to Wales this year. Nothing erodes the fact that Wales is my home.

27. I personally probably have a lot of disagreements with your average Welshman but I do live very close to the border, in a place where Labour and Plaid have never prospered. Regardless, when I watched Wales vs Trinidad played at Wrexham a few months back when the national anthem was sung a capella by thousands of Welsh fans, that moment has always stuck with me of feeling a real bond with these strangers around me, and pride in my heritage.

Do you think anyone can be Welsh, or that it’s something inherent? Share your thoughts at [email protected]. 

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Sally George

Sally is a proud wife of a Welshman, editor & writer of Welsh Histories. She’s all about stories—that shout ‘anything Welsh.’ Drop her an email if you have an advice, insight, experience, or a story to share.