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http://www.rte.ie/archives/exhibitio...e-black-irish/
Kinsale, Montserrat (West Indies) is home to a unique race of people, ‘The Black Irish’. ‘Radharc in the West Indies’ takes a look at the Irish story in Montserrat and the legacy that remains.
The story of Irish immigrants is known the world over and the island of Montserrat in the West Indies is no exception.
‘The Black Irish’ opens with a tongue-in-cheek advertisement for holidays in Kinsale. However, this is not Kinsale, Co. Cork, this is Kinsale on the island of Montserrat in the West Indies. Settled by Irish people in the 17th century, there are still reminders of Ireland everywhere. The flag, the accents, and the names.
The film features interviews with local resident Patrick Robert Reilly, (singing ‘Mother Machree’!) school teacher Catherine Ryan, Cork man Barney Columbia, University Lecturer Dr. Howard Fergus, Post Officers Mr. and Mrs. Allen, and a Belgian Bishop, Anthony Demesne, all of whom provide evidence of ‘Irishness’. The legacy of Irish immigrants lives on in the names, religion, accent, traditions and sentiment of many of the island’s inhabitants.
Caribbean and Irish pupils speak as Gaeilge over Skype
Thursday, March 13, 2014By Sean O’Riordan
Separated by thousands of miles, but not by a common language. History was made yesterday when a gaelscoil hooked up for the first time on Skype with a primary school in the Caribbean, and they both conversed as Gaeilge.
Sisters Aoife and Molly, top, at their school Gaelscoil de hÍde, Fermoy, speaking to their father Graham Clifford in Montserrat.
Ireland and Montserrat, also known as the Emerald isle, are the only two nations in the world which hold public holidays to mark St Patrick’s Day, and it’s believed it was also the first Skype link between the two islands.
Many surnames on Montserrat are Irish as most of its population are descended from Irish slaves who were sent there in the 17th century and married black slaves working on plantations.
http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland...pe-261767.html
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