The Emerald Isle reborn — Soufrière Hills exclusion zone, Irish heritage, and the world's most intimate volcanic observatory
Brades is the de facto capital of Montserrat, serving as the island's administrative centre after Plymouth — the original capital — was buried under volcanic ash by the Soufrière Hills volcano in 1997. Montserrat is known as the Emerald Isle of the Caribbean for its Irish heritage: the island was settled by Irish Catholics from St Kitts in 1632, and the shamrock appears on the passport stamp. The ongoing volcanic activity has made Montserrat one of the most extraordinary living geology destinations on earth.
Montserrat was colonised by Irish Catholic settlers fleeing religious persecution in St Kitts in 1632, creating a Caribbean island with genuine Irish naming conventions, surnames, and St Patrick's Day as a public holiday. The island developed as a sugar colony and later recording destination — AIR Studios, founded by George Martin, recorded albums by The Rolling Stones, Dire Straits, Paul McCartney, and Elton John here in the 1980s before the studio was destroyed by Hurricane Hugo in 1989. The Soufrière Hills volcano awakened in 1995 and has been erupting intermittently ever since, burying Pl…