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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 is an all-female Quidditch team that plays in the British and Irish Quidditch League. The team is 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.[1]
The Harpies playing robes are dark green with a gold talon emblazoned on the chest. They are unique among Quidditch teams in that they only hire women to play for them. With the exception of Valmai Morgan, all known members of the team have either first or last names that begin 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, former captain of the Harpies
In June 1986 Jones started playing for the Harpies after graduating from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
The Daily Prophet claims that nobody dares to disagree with Harpies' "brilliant, but dangerous" Captain Gwenog Jones.[2]
Early in the year, the Harpies were scheduled to play the Wimbourne Wasps in Exmoor.
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.
On 1 October 1999, the Harpies were 9th in the League.[2]
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]
Gwenog Jones' t-shirt
Around the early 2000s Ginny Weasley began playing for the Harpies. It's most likely she started playing for the team as a Chaser.
2010s
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 coach of 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
- One 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.[3]
- 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.[4]
Appearances
- Daily Prophet Newsletters
- Quidditch Through the Ages
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (video game) (Gwenog Jones (Appears on a Famous Wizard Card))
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (video game) (Gwenog Jones (Appears on a Famous Wizard Card))
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (video game) (Gwenog Jones (Appears on a Famous Wizard Card))
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Mentioned only)
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film) (Mentioned only)
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Mentioned only)
- J. K. Rowling's official site (Mentioned only)
- Harry Potter: Wizards Unite (Mentioned only)
Notes and references
- ↑ Quidditch Through the Ages, Chapter 7 (Quidditch Teams of Britain and Ireland)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Daily Prophet Newsletters
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 4 (Horace Slughorn)
- ↑ "Harpy" on Merriem-Webster
