This year’s Welsh Learner of the Year is Joe Healy. He was honoured in a special ceremony on Wednesday on the Pavilion stage, following an excellent competition.
18 individuals were interviewed this year, with learners from Wales and beyond nominated, and the adjudicators were Cyril Jones, Elwyn Hughes and Geraint Lloyd.
Joe received a trophy and £300 donated by The Masonic Province of West Wales and will also be invited to join the Gorsedd.
The judges were in full agreement that the standard was very high again this year. It would have been easy to choose eight finalists, but they had to whittle it down to the final four.
Originally from Wimbledon, Joe Healy came to Cardiff to study at university and decided to stay in the city. He started learning Welsh in 2018, and today speaks our language with complete confidence, using it socially and at work. He’s also actively supported his colleagues in learning Welsh.
Joe is passionate about the Welsh language and Wales, and wants to see our language thrive in the future. He is also interested in politics. He continues to live in Cardiff and uses Welsh daily in all areas of his life.
The other three finalists, Stephen Bale from Magor, Monmouthshire, Ben Ó Ceallaigh from Aberystwyth and Sophie Tuckwood from Haverfordwest received trophies and £100 each, also donated by The Masonic Province of West Wales.
The finalists also received a year’s subscription to the magazine, Golwg, and gifts from Merched y Wawr.