Montserrat has a unique blend of an Anglo-Irish and African cultures, thus the people benefits from diverse cultures and races. The richness of the cultural life is largely down to its diverse history. Over the years different races and cultures have had an influence on Montserrat and have consequently played a role in creating the society we live in today. The strong Irish ties with Montserrat have been a very influential and prominent factor in the culture adapted on the island. The national emblem is an engraved Irish shamrock adorning Government House, and the island's flag and crest show a woman with a cross and harp. Other cultural survivals, such as a value systems, codes of etiquette, musical styles, and the adaption of an Irish recipe for the island’s national dish called "goat water" stew. In addition to this, there are traces and a large presence of its Irish heritage as there are popular Irish surnames and various locations bears the Irish place names. This may be noticed by visitors touring the island.


St. Patrick's Day Celebrations

There are selection of crafted traditional games to play, storytelling and a kite flying festival which are enjoyed by many especially by the kids. A huge attraction is the traditional dance by Masqueraders performing local dances wearing brightly coloured traditional costumes, tall head dresses and whips, this dated back to the days of slavery. The sounds and beats played are created by a combination of African and European traditional instruments: fife and drum alongside banjo, boompipe, guitar, mouth organ, triangle, shak shak and bass drum. The beautiful sounds of steel bands which truly make you feel the Caribbean vibes, with blends of calypso, reggae and the popular Bam-chick-a-lay dance.

Like Ireland, Montserrat has suffered many hardships in its history, including the devastation of Hurricane Hugo in 1989 and a series of volcanic eruptions. The 1995 Soufriere Hills eruption left the island’s original festival village, St. Patrick’s, uninhabitable along with a good chunk of southern Montserrat. But the island’s 4,000 tough residents have carried on their St. Patrick’s Day festivities regardless, and welcome visitors to join in the fun.

In the 17th Century, Irish Catholic indentured servants were welcomed to the tiny volcanic island of Montserrat at a time when they were shunned in most other English-controlled islands of the Caribbean. The Irish mixed freely with the African slaves brought to work the English sugar plantations, and a unique Afro-Irish culture developed.

A clear representation of the Irish heritage influences is the celebration of St Patrick’s Day.  Some say St. Patrick’s Day is a bigger deal in the U.S. than it is in Ireland, but Montserrat may top them both: the St. Patrick’s festivities here go on for a solid week. Apart from Ireland - Montserrat is the only other island that celebrates this a public holiday. Montserrat celebrates St Patrick’s Day, March 17, remembering its Irish ancestry.  This celebration consists of a week of activities highlighting the mixture of the Irish and African cultures, unique to Montserrat.    In the past Celebrations on island consisted of a range of events and activities attracting interest from locals and visitors from all over the world.  These usually included a special service held at Catholic Church, a lecture, an exhibition, mountain hikes, the freedom run from Cudjoe Head to Salem Park, a St Patrick’s  and a Junior Calypso show.  Whilst commemorating the slave uprising on March 17th, 1768, a ‘Slave Village’ is constructed to form an authentic backdrop to traditional food stalls selling delicious local grub, known as the ‘Slave Feast’. You’ll find Guinness on tap in the bars, hints of Irish cookery in the national dish (a stew called ‘goat water’), and lots of Irish surnames among the people.

Montserrat Festival

Another widely recognized celebration on island is that the end of year festival. This is a celebration of arts and culture native to the region and Montserrat. The festival spans over a two week period. Events and activities includes calypso competition, the festival Queen competition, beauty and talent shows, parades along with Masqueraders and carnival customs worn by locals and visitors. ‘Jump ups’ are organised for all, festival goers dancing in the streets and jamming to the beats of the sounds pumping from sound systems as it moves from area to area. A recent increase in the festival season is as night falls limers can enjoy events hosted by local clubs and bars providing places for all to enjoy the beats of soca, reggae and other genres of music. Not to mention the other events which takes place include choir performances, drama, and schools performing art festivals. This celebration is enjoyed year on year by Montserratians living abroad visiting home for the annual event.

As well as the above, Montserrat’s culture is also characterised by looking at how other natural forces influence the lifestyles and traditions of its people. The Island features also impacts on the attire, diet, shelter and crops of the population. The volcanic rocks and its native plants around the island continue to play an important part and shown in the modern day culture.

Arts

Montserratians are huge lovers of storytelling which are mostly expressed in form of skits or short plays. The arts on island are largely linked to folk representations. Over the years trappings of black power, Afro clothing, and plaited hair have been very transient. However, there has been great emphasis of self and a search for national identity. Focus has been found expression in research into local folk music, folktales, proverbs, riddles, and dialects. There has been an attempt to recognize and reconcile the African contributions to Montserrat's cultural mosaic. Arts and crafts has been thriving on Montserrat with range of products ranging from pottery, lace, paintings, local crafts and beautiful handcrafted jewelry and much more which can be purchased of local shops on island.

Food

The island is commonly known for growing foods such as breadfruit, mango, breadfruit, mango, soursop, pawpaw, and cashews. There are a wide range of restaurants and bars mostly located on the southern part of the island. These restaurants serve reasonable priced cuisines from international dishes to local dishes, the national dish of goat water and the famous Mountain Chicken. You can also enjoy a range of freshly made drinks made from local exotic fruits grown on the island such as soursop, mango, cashew, guava, tamarind, papaya, gooseberry and West Indian cherries. Additionally, you can also enjoy homemade drinks made from sorrel and ginger beer.

Restaurants on island include:

Ida's Restaurant
Good Life Restaurant and Night Club
Gourmet Gardens
Grand View Bed and Breakfast
JJ's Cuisine
La Colage
Olveston House
Oriole Cafe
'Ponts' Beach View  
The Royal Palm Club
Tina's Restaurant
The Attic
Windsor Restaurant
Ziggy's Restaurant