Catherine Eileen James was born into a farming family on 4^th April 1921, in the village of Henllan Amgoed, Carmarthenshire. During the Second World War, she studied at University College Cardiff (now Cardiff University) before working as a teacher.

After marrying coal miner Trefor Beasley in 1951, the couple moved to Llanelli. Having met at a Plaid Cymru gathering, (and with Trefor being involved with union activity), the pair were politically engaged long before the subsequent recognition they received for their activism and Welsh-language advocacy.

During the 1950s, the Welsh language had no official status in Wales and Eileen Beasley protested against this by refusing to pay her rates to Llanelli Rural District Council until she received a bilingual demand. In a region where 90% of the population spoke Welsh, Eileen’s battle lasted over eight years, during which time she and Trefor were summoned to court 16 times. Bailiffs also visited their home on several occasions and took personal items, wedding gifts and even their carpets, in lieu of the unpaid taxes.

By the end of the dispute, the Beasleys and their children owned only a table, four chairs and their beds, yet public support for their campaign had gained momentum. By 1958, Eileen was elected county councilor (the only female public official in the area) and received letters of support from around the world. In 1960, Llanelli Rural District Council finally agreed to print bilingual rates demand notices and Eileen Beasley became known as the Mother of Direct Action and the Welsh Rosa Parks.

Eileen Beasley died in August 2012, but her legacy is felt across Wales. Plaid Cymru founder Saunders Lewis advocated her actions in a speech that led to the creation of Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg, while Eileen’s determination inspires others to continue to fight for our language.

Ganed Catherine Eileen James i deulu o ffermwyr ar 4 Ebrill 1921 ym mhentref Henllan Amgoed, Sir Gaerfyrddin. Yn ystod yr Ail Ryfel Byd, bu’n astudio yng Ngholeg Prifysgol Caerdydd (Prifysgol Caerdydd heddiw) cyn mynd i weithio fel athrawes.

Ar ôl priodi’r glöwr Trefor Beasley yn 1951, symudodd y cwpwl i Lanelli. Ar ôl cyfarfod â’i gilydd mewn cyfarfod Plaid Cymru (a Trefor wedi bod yn ymwneud â materion undeb), bu’r pâr yn cymryd rhan mewn gweithgareddau gwleidyddol ymhell cyn y gydnabyddiaeth a gawsant am eu gweithredu a’u hymgyrchu dros yr iaith Gymraeg.

Yn ystod yr 1950au, nid oedd gan y Gymraeg unrhyw statws swyddogol yng Nghymru a phrotestiodd Eileen Beasley yn erbyn hynny drwy wrthod talu ei threthi i Gyngor Dosbarth Gwledig Llanelli tan iddi dderbyn y bil treth yn ddwyieithog. Mewn ardal lle’r oedd 90% o’r boblogaeth yn siarad Cymraeg, parhaodd brwydr Eileen am wyth mlynedd a mwy, ac yn ystod yr amser hwnnw gwysiwyd hi a Trefor i ymddangos mewn llys barn 16 o weithiau. Roedd y beilïaid wedi ymweld â’u cartref ar sawl achlysur a chymryd eitemau personol, anrhegion priodas a hyd yn oed eu carpedi, yn lle’r trethi oedd heb eu talu.

Erbyn diwedd yr anghydfod, dim ond bwrdd, pedair cadair a’u gwelyau oedd gan y Beasleys a’u plant, ond eto roedd cefnogaeth y cyhoedd i’w hymgyrch wedi ennill momentwm. Erbyn 1958, cafodd Eileen ei hethol yn gynghorydd sir (yr unig swyddog cyhoeddus benywaidd yn yr ardal) a derbyniodd lythyrau o gefnogaeth o bedwar ban byd. Yn 1960, cytunodd Cyngor Dosbarth Gwledig Llanelli o’r diwedd i argraffu biliau treth dwyieithog a daeth Eileen Beasley yn adnabyddus fel Mam Gweithredu Uniongyrchol a Rosa Parks Cymru.

Bu farw Eileen Beasley fis Awst 2012, ond mae ei gwaddol yn fyw ar hyd a lled Cymru. Roedd sylfaenydd Plaid Cymru, Saunders Lewis, wedi hyrwyddo ei gweithredoedd mewn araith a arweiniodd at sefydlu Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg, tra bod dyfalbarhad diwyro Eileen yn ysbrydoli eraill i barhau i ymladd dros ein hiaith.