This year’s Welsh Learner of the Year is Alison Cairns
She was honoured in a special ceremony on Wednesday on the Pafiliwn Mawr stage, following an excellent competition.
29 individuals were interviewed this year, with learners from Wales and beyond nominated, and the adjudicators were Liz Saville Roberts, Geraint Wilson Price and Tudur Owen. The other three on the shortlist were Roland Davies from Llanidloes, Manuela Niemetscheck from Bethesda and Tom Trevarthen from Aberystwyth.
Originally from Scotland, Alison Cairns now lives in Anglesey. She lives her life in Welsh and has seven children. She started learning Welsh by listening to BBC Radio Cymru, watching S4C and reading her daughter's books.
She now uses Welsh confidently every day, without ever having had a formal Welsh lesson. Welsh is the language of the family, and Alison, who works in the care sector, realises how important using Welsh can be when dealing with patients.
She enjoys working with horses and kickboxing and is an experienced shearer who has won a number of awards over the years. Alison and her partner, Siôn, are getting married in the autumn.
Alison received the Dysgwr y Flwyddyn Trophy and £300, donated by Pwllheli Town Council. The other three finalists received £100, again donated by Pwllheli Town Council.
The finalists also received a year’s subscription to the magazine, Golwg, and gifts from Merched y Wawr.