Weekend Window Opens on Montserrat

Nov. 16, 2008 — -- The origins of Montserrat's nickname -- the Emerald Isle of the Caribbean -- are evident as soon as you approach this small, green island. Dramatic hillsides sweep the landscape before dropping sharply into the sea, and place names like Runaway Ghaut hint at the island's Irish heritage.

Montserrat, located in the Leeward Islands of the Eastern Caribbean, got its name from Christopher Columbus, who in 1493 said it reminded him of the hills and valleys surrounding a Catholic abbey near Barcelona called Santa Maria de Montserrate.

After the island became a British colony in 1632, it served as a haven for Irish Catholics who had finished their time as indentured servants on other British islands in the Caribbean.

Today, Montserrat's Irish heritage is evident in its flag, which shows a female figure similar to that on the Irish heraldry, and its food -- the national dish is an Irish stew called "goat water."

"We are very, very Irish," Montserrat Director of Tourism Ernestine Cassell said. "As a matter of fact, [Montserrat] is the only island that celebrates St. Patrick's Day outside of Ireland."

Montserrat is also known for its Soufriere Hills volcano, which began erupting in 1995 after being dormant for hundreds of years. As a result of the eruption, two-thirds of the island is now off-limits to both visitors and residents.

"This eruption has lasted for thirteen years, and it's in the top five volcanoes that have done that in the world over the last few hundred years," said Jean-Christophe Komorowski, acting director of the Montserrat Volcano Observatory. "It has gone through different phases of activity. Currently ... there's no lava coming out of the summit of the volcano, but the volcano is still active."

Ash and mud from the erupting volcano have covered the former capital city of Plymouth, now known as a modern-day Pompeii.

"People, when they go in to see it … are actually standing on the tops of buildings, that much has it changed," Cassell said.