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"The only all-witch team currently playing in the Quidditch league have been attracting new fans every match."
Daily Prophet article[src]

The Holyhead Harpies were an all-female Quidditch team that played in the British and Irish Quidditch League. The team was based in the town of Holyhead, which is located in the northwest of Wales. The team was founded in 1203, making them the second-oldest team in the league.[4]

The Harpies playing robes were dark green with a gold talon emblazoned on the chest. They were unique among Quidditch teams in that they only hired women to play for them. With the exceptions of Valmai Morgan, Erika Rath, and Zola Farrell, all known members of the team had either first or last names that began with the letter 'G'.

History[]

Early history[]

In 1203, the team was founded.

One of the highlights of the Harpies History occurred in 1953, when they defeated the Heidelberg Harriers of Germany in a match that lasted seven days.

At the end of the match, the Captain of the Harriers Rudolf Brand proposed marriage to his opposing Captain, Gwendolyn Morgan, who subsequently concussed him with her broomstick.

Recent history[]

1980s–1990s[]

"Gwenog Jones? The Gwenog Jones? Captain of the Holyhead Harpies?"
— Jones as the current Harpies' captain[src]
Jones on a broom

Gwenog Jones, former captain of the Harpies

In June 1986, Jones started playing for the Harpies after graduating from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

During the 1987–1988 school year, the Holyhead Harpies performed an exhibition at Hogwarts.[5]

The Daily Prophet claimed that nobody dared to disagree with the Harpies' "brilliant, but dangerous" Captain Gwenog Jones.[6]

Early in the year, the Harpies were scheduled to play the Wimbourne Wasps in Exmoor.

Holyhead Harpies Uniform

A Harpies player in her team's uniform

Valmai Morgan, the replacement Chaser for Wilda Griffiths who joined Puddlemere United, scored ten goals in one game, helping the Harpies to victory (presumably against the Wasps).

The Harpies played Puddlemere United at Ilkley Moor. Wands were confiscated at the gates, as crowd trouble was anticpated. Many fans handed over dummy wands, however. Puddlemere's Chaser Wilda Griffiths disappeared midway through the match. A riot broke out and fans of both sides used their wands. Gwenog Jones was held in custody after the game.

Upon graduating from Hogwarts in 1991, Erika Rath joined the Harpies as a Beater.[1][2]

On 1 October 1999, the Harpies were 9th in the League.[6]

2000s[]

"Ginny Weasley, stuck with her athletic career, playing for the Holyhead Harpies, the all-female Quidditch team."
— Ginny's future life and career[src]

Around the early 2000s, Ginny Weasley began playing for the Harpies. It's most likely she started playing for the team as a Chaser.

Zola Farrell joined the Harpies as a Chaser by at most 2008.[3]

2010s[]

It Should Have Been Haiti

Gwenog Jones's t-shirt

By 2014, Gwenog Jones had retired from the Holyhead Harpies, and had become the manager of the Welsh National Quidditch Team. Shortly before the 2014 Quidditch World Cup, Gwenog Jones threatened to "curse the face off" rival Brazilian manager José Barboza, when he called her Chasers "talentless hags" (a comment that he later insisted had been taken out of context).

During the Brazil-Wales quarter-final match, she showed up to the game in an "It Should Have Been Haiti" t-shirt and was prevented from entering the stadium, therefore missing the first ten minutes of the game. She later ended up in custody when, after Brazilian Seeker Tony Silva caught the Snitch and won the game, she attempted to curse off Barboza's face in the packed stadium and was dragged away by her own Beaters.

During at least the 2010s, Jordanna Bodiment was the trainer for the Holyhead Harpies.

Squads[]

Holyhead Harpies
1998
Chasers
Unknown Wilda Griffiths Unknown
Beaters
  Gwenog Jones (Captain) Unknown  
Keeper Seeker
Unknown Unknown
Holyhead Harpies
1999
Chasers
Unknown Valmai Morgan Unknown
Beaters
  Gwenog Jones (Captain) Unknown  
Keeper Seeker
Unknown Unknown

Behind the scenes[]

HolyheadHarpiesWU

The team's emblem

  • Famous Beater Gwenog Jones was once a member of the Slug Club at Hogwarts and gave Horace Slughorn free tickets to any game upon request, although he had not been in contact with her for over a year upon his return to Hogwarts.[7]
  • The Holyhead Harpies is Ginny Weasley's favourite Quidditch team.
  • Ginny Weasley played for the Holyhead Harpies before having children and becoming senior Quidditch Correspondent at the Daily Prophet.
  • This is the only all-female Quidditch team mentioned in the series.
  • In Greek mythology, Harpies were monsters that were part woman, part bird. The literal meaning of the word seems to be "that which snatches", befitting of some parts of a Quidditch game, such as the essential "snatching" of the Snitch. In modern times, "harpy" can also be an unflattering term for a woman.[8]

Appearances[]

Notes and references[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 7, Chapter 60 (Graduation and Beyond)
  2. 2.0 2.1 Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Beyond Hogwarts, Volume 1, Chapter 16 (Fire and Eyes)
  3. 3.0 3.1 Harry Potter: Magic Awakened, Beaters, Bludgers, & Broomsticks, Chapter II: The Fast and the Curious
  4. Quidditch Through the Ages, Chapter 7 (Quidditch Teams of Britain and Ireland)
  5. Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 4, Side Quest "Joining the Slug Club"
  6. 6.0 6.1 Daily Prophet Newsletters
  7. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 4 (Horace Slughorn)
  8. "Harpy" on Merriem-Webster
British and Irish Quidditch League
Times de Quadribol da Grã-Bretanha e Irlanda2
Quidditch teams
England Appleby Arrows · Chudley Cannons · Falmouth Falcons · Puddlemere United · Tutshill Tornados · Wimbourne Wasps
Ireland and Northern Ireland Kenmare Kestrels · Ballycastle Bats
Scotland Banchory Bangers · Montrose Magpies · Pride of Portree · Wigtown Wanderers
Wales Caerphilly Catapults · Holyhead Harpies
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