caribbean life

ethos. But ancestry isnt the only reason Montserrat celebrates the holiday: March 17, 1768 St. Patricks Day also marked a violent slave uprising that, though unsuccessful, inspired a mass of slaves to rally for their freedom for decades to come. These days, the holiday has come to represent a sort of underdog kinship a palpable in-it-togetherness and these folks definitely know a thing or two about resilience. Like many Caribbean islands, Montserrat is a product of tectonics, but unlike her sister isles, a supremely active volcano still dominates most of the islands southern half today: Madame Soufriere. We know shes a lady, local tour guide Jadine Glitzenhirn says. What else could she be? Shes moody and loves to show off. And how. At her most volatile, between 1995 and 1998, the peak erupted in a period of showstopping pyroclastic activity, devastating the capital of Plymouth under layers of ash and mud. Even this week, shes been huffing and puffing ominous plumes over all of the revelry the wallflower aching to join in. During the volcanic crisis, the majority of the islands 11,000-strong population fled to Europe or other Caribbean nations, but the eruptions instilled an unshakable sense of community among those who stayed behind. Those few Montserratians and the small legion of expats who have since joined them today possess an irrepressible spirit (and lets face it, a little bit of tiny-island stir-craziness) thats bubbling over with affection for their island and culture even for their mercurial Soufriere. St. Patricks Day, in all of its usual pomp and boozy pageantry, just happens to be a perfect time to show it. Every activity, from the come-as-you-are parade in Little Bay to the kooky, company picnic-like Community Fun Run in Salem, is steeped in homegrown, small-town West Indian charm. Carnival its not, but where else can you party with Caribbean islanders clad in tartan? And if I had any lingering doubt about the islands Irish heritage after all the fun and games of the week, it was put to rest on St. Patricks Eve at a special concert by the Emerald Community Singers, an assembly of local cabaret performers, chanting a sardonic tune about a Brit with unusual stamina: An Englishman who lasts till 3, Thats something Ive never seen ... An affinity for drinking and a perverse sense of humor at the expense of the English? Yep, these folks are definitely Irish. Great-grandma Moore would have liked it here just fine. This years festivities are scheduled for March 13-20. Daily flights from Antigua are available on Winair (866-466-0410; fly-winair.com), and on-demand charter flights from Antigua, Anguilla, Guadeloupe, St. Kitts and Tortola are available on FlyMontserrat (644-491-3434; flymontserrat.com). Contact Monair Ports Services (664-491-2533) for info on ferry schedules and fares. Surf over to caribbeantravelmag.com/top5montserrat for our list of the Top 5 Places to Stay.

journal

When IrIsh eyes are LImIn

Proud of all the irish that is in it, the wee island of montserrat makes a big deal of st. Patricks Day.
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The black-sand beach at Little Bay is a sign of Montserrats volcanic nature. Above, from left: The Monkey Bar in seisin; traditional mas dancers celebrate St. Patricks Day.

Irish in me, but Im not one to turn down a pub-crawl especially on St. Patricks Day. After all, it would be rude to great-grandma Moore. So while its barely half past the wee hours, Im already saddled up to the bar at a little joint called the Monkey Bar, part of the Green Monkey Dive Shop, scanning the mlange of green T-shirts hobnobbing around the small room. Dublins Martin healy Band is perched on the back patio playing a string of Irish jigs; my saucy American compatriots are competing in an undeclared triathlon of Guinness chugging, knee slapping and bad dancing; and as we all raise our frothy pints to toast our favorite drinking occasion, a salty dog offers a well-rehearsed verse: May the winds of fortune sail you; May you sail a gentle sea; May it always be the other guy Who says, This drinks on me. Cheers to that! Basking in the taste of cold beer and warm company, I reflect on how this rowdy pub scene must

be playing out all over the Irish world today. But looking out across the patio, Im pretty sure my slant on the festivities is a rare one, since I can see nevis beyond the bay. The tiny island of Montserrat may not spring to mind when conjuring authentic places to celebrate an Irish drinking holiday. But the 4,500-odd residents of this other Emerald Isle are zealous about their Irish heritage the British colony is, in fact, the only place outside of Ireland to recognize St. Patricks Day as an official public holiday. And rather than limit themselves to one day of fun and games, these rollicking folks go for it all week long. The story of the islands Irish heritage dates to 1632, when a band of persecuted Irish Catholics fled Protestant St. Kitts and settled among the Arawak and Carib tribes on Montserrat. Within just a half-century, Irishmen had fathered the majority of the population, laying the groundwork for strong Irish influences in Montserrats spiritual, cultural and political
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CloCkwise from bottom: Vanessa Hall (2); JoHn Cole/alamy