The group first came to prominence in 1979 after the
Welsh devolution referendum. The first attacks happened in the early morning of the 13th of December, 1979. One summer home in
Nefyn, another in
Llanbedrog, two in
Pennal near
Machynlleth, and another two in
Pembrokeshire were all burned. It peaked in the late 1980s with the targeting of
Conservative MPs' homes with letter bombs, most notably
David Hunt, the then
Welsh secretary, who was targeted in 1990. The first instance of an attack being claimed by Meibion Glyndŵr was on the 6th of February, 1981, in which a letter was posted in
Porthmadog to the
BBC office in
Bangor. In the letter, the group claimed responsibility for recent attacks. Specifically, the letter referred to an attack on boats that were being kept in
Penyberth near
Pwllheli. To prove the authenticity of the claim, they provided the name of one of the boats damaged in the attack, named Mariner 111. Meibion Glyndŵr was the only group to have any claim to long-term success, although since the mid-1990s the group has been inactive, and Welsh nationalist violence has ceased, at least on an organisational level. .
John Barnard Jenkins is seen holding a wreath on the right, 1989.|274x274px In July 1989, eight men wearing white shirts, sunglasses and black berets adorned with red, white and green feathers marched in a procession attended by 250 people in
Abergele to commemorate the deaths of two alleged members of
Mudiad Amddiffyn Cymru. The two, named Alwyn Jones and George Taylor, who are often referred to by Welsh nationalists as the "Abergele Martyrs", were killed when the bomb they were planting prematurely exploded on the eve of
King Charles III's investiture as the
Prince of Wales in July 1969. On the chest of the shirts was a badge labelled (). and David Gareth Davies were among those within the colour party, and were later arrested on suspicion of involvement with Meibion Glyndŵr. Also present was
Sion Aubrey Roberts, who was the sole individual that was later charged for involvement. A reinvestigation into
postal bombings led to the conviction of Sion Aubrey Roberts in March 1993. Roberts was also interviewed by the BBC in 2023 for its
Firebombers documentary, during which he reiterated his admission of involvement with Meibion Glyndŵr, citing the policies of
Margaret Thatcher’s government as his motivation for turning to militant action. == Popular support ==