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Background

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Montserrat had been colonised primarily by Irish settlers, some were indentured servants sent by the Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Oliver Cromwell and some being free merchants.[1] By 1871 it had become a part of the British Leeward Islands colony.

In 1907, a coat of arms competition was held in England to determine coats of arms for the individual islands of the Leeward Islands colony. Mrs Goodwin won the competition and the College of Arms approved it for use in 1909.[2]

In 1958, Montserrat joined the West Indies Federation following the dissolution of the British Leeward Islands and used the Federation flag.[3] In 1960, Montserrat received the authorisation to adopt their coat of arms on a British blue ensign as their flag from the Admiralty.[4] Montserrat exercised that right in 1962 following the collapse of the Federation and becoming a Crown colony in its own right.[5] The flag has been used to represent Montserrat internationally. In 1981, the Chief Minister of Monserrat, John Osborne gave a speech to the University of the West Indies arguing that proposed Montserratian independence meant more than just a new flag.[6] [[first In 1993, the United States Peace Corps had a parade of nation's and territory's flags but realised they did not have the flag of Montserrat. However a Canadian flag organisation were able to make one and provide it in time.[7]


In 1999, the flag was altered to enlarge the arms on it. This decision was taken by the Ministry of Defence (successor to the Admiralty) in consultation with the College of Arms on the grounds that the flag was too difficult to identify at a distance and also because it had diverged from the Royal grant of it.[8] A white border was added to the arms on the flag to assist with this.[9] A version of the flag existed prior to this with the coat of arms on a white disc.[10] This was following an Admiralty regulation in the Admiralty Flag Book that if any part of the coat of arms of the flag was the same colour as the field, then it must be displayed on a white disc.[11]

In the 1970s, it was commonplace for the Governor at Government House, Montserrat to fly the flag of Ireland alongside the flag of Montserrat as a tribute to the island's Irish heritage.[12]

From 2012, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office announced they would fly the flags of the British Overseas Territories over their buildings in Whitehall.[13] The flag of Montserrat flies on 17 March to coincide with St Patrick's Day being considered by the government to be Montserrat's "significant day".[14] The flag is also flown on St Patrick's Day outside the House of Commons of the United Kingdom in New Palace Yard from 2021 at the behest of the Speaker of the House of Commons Sir Lindsay Hoyle.[15]

The blue in it symbolises "awareness, trustworthiness, detirmination and righteousness".[16]

  1. ^ "DID YOU KNOW? There is a place called 'Kinsale' and 'Cork Hill' in Montserrat, West Indies, Caribbean". 25 April 2020.
  2. ^ Consuming St. Patrick's Day. Cambridge Scholars. 5 October 2015. ISBN 978-1-4438-8407-5.
  3. ^ Worldmark Yearbook. Gale. 2000. ISBN 978-0-7876-5093-3.
  4. ^ https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/-/media/royal-navy-responsive/documents/reference-library/brd2/ch91.pdf
  5. ^ Flag Book. Popular Prakashan. ISBN 978-81-7991-512-7.
  6. ^ "Bulletin of Eastern Caribbean Affairs". 1981.
  7. ^ Newscan. Canadian Embassy, Public Affairs Division. 1993.
  8. ^ "Montserrat".
  9. ^ "Flags, Symbols, & Currencies of Montserrat". 24 February 2021.
  10. ^ Sabenacio, Diane (2016). Heritage, Diaspora and the Consumption of Culture: Movements in Irish Landscapes. Routledge. p. 117. ISBN 9781317122296.
  11. ^ Brownell, Frederick Gordon (May 2011). "Flagging the "new" South Africa, 1910-2010". Historia. 56 (1): 42–62.
  12. ^ https://www.newspapers.com/image/145710439/?terms=Montserrat%20flag&match=1
  13. ^ "Overseas Territories flags flown over Foreign Office".
  14. ^ "British Overseas Territories flag over the FCO - a Freedom of Information request to Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office". 24 December 2020.
  15. ^ "Montserrat Celebrated at House of Commons on St. Patrick's Day". 18 March 2021.
  16. ^ Greenaway, Sharmen (8 November 2011). Montserrat in England: Dynamics of Culture. iUniverse. ISBN 978-1-4620-5876-1.
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