Portal:Wales


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Wales (Welsh: Cymru [ˈkəmrɨ] ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Located on the island of Great Britain, it is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic Sea to the south-west. As of 2021, it had a population of 3.2 million. It has a total area of 21,218 square kilometres (8,192 sq mi) and over 2,700 kilometres (1,680 mi) of coastline. It is largely mountainous with its higher peaks in the north and central areas, including Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa), its highest summit. The country lies within the north temperate zone and has a changeable, maritime climate. Its capital and largest city is Cardiff.

A distinct Welsh culture emerged among the Celtic Britons after the Roman withdrawal from Britain in the 5th century, and Wales was briefly united under Gruffudd ap Llywelyn in 1055. After over 200 years of war, the conquest of Wales was completed by King Edward I of England in 1283, though Owain Glyndŵr led the Welsh Revolt against English rule in the early 15th century, and briefly re-established an independent Welsh state with its own national parliament (Welsh: senedd). In the 16th century the whole of Wales was annexed by England and incorporated within the English legal system under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. Distinctive Welsh politics developed in the 19th century. Welsh Liberalism, exemplified in the late 19th and early 20th century by David Lloyd George, was displaced by the growth of socialism and the Labour Party. Welsh national feeling grew over the century: a nationalist party, Plaid Cymru, was formed in 1925, and the Welsh Language Society in 1962. A governing system of Welsh devolution is employed in Wales, of which the most major step was the formation of the Senedd (Welsh Parliament, formerly the National Assembly for Wales) in 1998, responsible for a range of devolved policy matters. (Full article...)

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The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union tournaments. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland. The International Rugby Board (IRB) regards Wales as a Tier One rugby nation, and ranks them seventh in the world as of 28 February 2011. Wales play in red jerseys embroidered with the Prince of Wales's feathers. Their current home ground is the Millennium Stadium, completed in 1999 to replace the National Stadium at Cardiff Arms Park. Ten former Welsh players have been inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame, and two of the ten have been inducted into the IRB Hall of Fame.

The governing body, the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU), was established in 1881, the same year that Wales played their first international against England. Welsh rugby struggled between the first and second World Wars, but experienced a second 'golden age' between 1969 and 1980 when they won eight Five Nations Championships (including 3 shared wins). They played in the inaugural Rugby World Cup in 1987 where they achieved their best ever result of third. Wales hosted the 1999 World Cup and, won their first Six Nations Grand Slam in 2005, which was followed by a second in 2008. Their 2005 Grand Slam is notable for being the first ever team to gain the accolade playing most matches away from home.

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Saint David as teacher of St. Finnian in a stained glass window at Clonard

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Sir Thomas Jones Woodward, OBE (born 7 June 1940), known by his stage name Tom Jones, is a Welsh pop singer. He was born in Treforest, Rhondda Cynon Taf. Tom Jones rose to fame in the mid-1960s, with an exuberant live act that included wearing tight breeches and billowing shirts, in an Edwardian style popular among his peers at the time. He was known for his overt sexuality, before this was as common as it has become in subsequent years. In 1963 he became the frontman for Tommy Scott and The Senators, a local beat group. Clad in black leather, he soon gained a reputation in South Wales, although the Senators were still unknown in London. In 1964 they laid down seven tracks with maverick Telstar producer Joe Meek, and took them to various labels in an attempt to get a record deal, with no success. The plan was to release a single, Lonely Joe / I Was A Fool, but the ever-flighty Meek refused to release the tapes. Only after It's Not Unusual became a massive hit, Meek was able to sell the tapes to Tower (USA) and Columbia (UK). The group returned to South Wales and continued to play gigs at dance halls and working men's clubs.

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