1985 in Wales

This article is about the particular significance of the year 1985 to Wales and its people.

Incumbents

*Prince of Wales - Charles, Prince of Wales
*Princess of Wales - Diana, Princess of Wales
*Secretary of State for Wales - Nicholas Edwards
*Archbishop of Wales - Derrick Childs
*Archdruid of the National Eisteddfod of Wales - Geraint

Events

*May 16 - Dean Hancock and Russell Shankland are convicted of murder at Cardiff Crown Court and jailed for life. The previous November, at the height of the miners' strike, they caused the death of a taxi driver by dropping a concrete block onto his car as it passed under a bridge.
*Terry Matthews sells his stake in Mitel to British Telecom.
*Cefn is founded to campaign for the civil rights of Welsh speakers.
*The Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies is founded at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth.
*Seventeen women are prosecuted on conspiracy charges after the occupation of a nuclear bunker near Carmarthen.

Arts and literature

*Robat Powell becomes the first Welsh learner to win the Chair at the National Eisteddfod (see below).

Awards

*National Eisteddfod of Wales (held in Rhyl)

*National Eisteddfod of Wales: Chair - Robat Powell
*National Eisteddfod of Wales: Crown - John Roderick Rees
*National Eisteddfod of Wales: Prose Medal - Margaret Dafydd

New books

*Geraint Bowen - "Cerddi"
*Bryan Martin Davies - "Lleoedd"
*Alice Thomas Ellis - "Unexplained Laughter"
*Lady Olwen Carey Evans - "Lloyd George Was My Father"
*David Hughes - "The Pork Butcher"
*Christopher Meredith - "This"
*Robert Minhinnick - "The Dinosaur Park"
*J. P. Ward - "The Clearing"
*Glanmor Williams - "Grym Tafodau Tân"
*Ivor Wilks - "South Wales and the Rising of 1839"

Music

*Downtown Julie Brown makes her debut on Club MTV.
*"Dwylo Dros y Mor", performed by various artists, is the Welsh charity song released in coordination with Band Aid.
*Aled Jones - "Aled Jones With The BBC Welsh Chorus" (album)
*Living Legends - "Better Dead Than Wed"

Film

*Jonathan Pryce stars in "Brazil".
*Richard Marquand directs "Jagged Edge".

Welsh-language films

*"None"

Broadcasting

Welsh-language television

*

English-language television

*

port

*Horse racing - Hywel Davies wins the Grand National on "Last Suspect".
*Welsh Sports Personality of the Year - Steve Jones, marathon runner

Births

*8 April - Gareth Rees, cricketer
*11 September - Daniel Parslow, footballer
*25 December -Leon Pisani, pop singer

Deaths

*26 January - David Ormsby-Gore, 5th Baron Harlech
*4 April - Kate Roberts, author
*8 May - Tom Hooson, politician
*9 June - Clifford Evans, actor
*1 September - Saunders Lewis, writer
*17 September - Laura Ashley, designer
*28 October - Harold Davies, Baron Davies of Leek, politician
*1 November - Bruce Dargavel, singer