English: This weekend the Merthyr Rising festival will commemorate the events of May 1831 when iron workers, miners and their families rose up against the deplorable living and working conditions they had to endure. During the protest the rebels bathed their flag in calf's blood - believed to be the first time the red flag was used as a symbol of revolution. There are still buildings and sights in Merthyr that played a significant part in the rising, not least of which is the debtor's court of requests, where those in debt often faced seizure of their property and belongings, plunging them into further destitution. But whilst buildings like the court are a reminder of the rising, it is the people behind it who matter most, and one of those was Richard Lewis, or Dic Penderyn as he was more commonly known. As least 28 people died during the rising, but it was for allegedly wounding a soldier that Dic Penderyn was scapegoated, brought before the courts, sentenced to death and hanged at Cardiff jail on 13 August 1831, protesting his innocence to the end with his last words: 'O Arglwydd, dyma gamwedd' - O, Lord, here is injustice. Despite a subsequent deathbed confession by the real culprit, Dic Penderyn has never been pardoned, but I'm proud to have added my name to the support for the campaign by his family to achieve this. So, this weekend we will remember Dic's legacy and the spirit of the workers of Merthyr who rose up against injustice and tyranny, paving the way for future political and social reform in Britain, and we will continue the fight for justice for Dic Penderyn.
Welsh: Y penwythnos hwn bydd gŵyl Terfysg Merthyr yn coffáu digwyddiadau Mai 1831 pan gododd gweithwyr haearn, glowyr a'u teuluoedd a sefyll yn erbyn yr amodau byw a gweithio truenus roeddent yn gorfod eu dioddef. Yn ystod y brotest, trochodd y gwrthryfelwyr eu baner mewn gwaed llo - a chredir mai dyna'r tro cyntaf i'r faner goch gael ei defnyddio fel symbol o chwyldro. Ceir adeiladau a golygfeydd ym Merthyr o hyd a chwaraeodd ran bwysig yn y terfysg, yn arbennig y llys deisyfion, lle roedd y rhai a oedd mewn dyled yn aml yn wynebu colli eu heiddo a'u meddiannau, gan eu taflu i amddifadedd pellach. Ond er bod adeiladau fel y llys yn ein hatgoffa am y terfysg, y bobl y tu ôl iddo sydd bwysicaf, ac un o'r rheini oedd Richard Lewis, neu Dic Penderyn fel yr adwaenid ef orau. Bu farw o leiaf 28 o bobl yn ystod y gwrthryfel, ond am ei fod wedi clwyfo milwr, yn ôl yr honiad, cafodd Dic Penderyn ei wneud yn fwch dihangol, ei ddwyn gerbron y llysoedd, a'i ddedfrydu i farwolaeth a'i grogi yng ngharchar Caerdydd ar 13 Awst 1831, gan brotestio ei fod yn ddieuog hyd y diwedd gyda'i eiriau olaf: 'O Arglwydd, dyma gamwedd'. Er i'r troseddwr go iawn gyfaddef ei drosedd ar ei wely angau, nid yw Dic Penderyn erioed wedi cael pardwn, ond rwy'n falch o fod wedi ychwanegu fy enw i ddangos fy nghefnogaeth i'r ymgyrch gan ei deulu sy'n ceisio cyflawni hyn. Felly, y penwythnos hwn byddwn yn cofio etifeddiaeth Dic ac ysbryd gweithwyr Merthyr a safodd yn erbyn anghyfiawnder a gormes, gan baratoi'r ffordd ar gyfer diwygiadau gwleidyddol a chymdeithasol ym Mhrydain yn y dyfodol, a byddwn yn parhau â'r frwydr dros gyfiawnder i Dic Penderyn.