Montserrat, the British territory in the Caribbean, has hired Cheryl Andrews Marketing for PR and economic development.

montserratThe Coral Gables, Fla.-based firm represented Montserrat’s tourism push from 2005 though 2011. The Montserrat Development Board was reconstituted in 2012 with a focus on investments.

The RFP won by CAM was released in November with an emphasisoninvestor relations, events, promotions, digital services, and media relations.

Tragedy struck Montserrat in 1989 as Hurricane Hugo slammed it, damaging 90 percent of its buildings.

A long-dormant volcano erupted in 1995 to destroy the capital city of Plymouth. Two-thirds of the population fled. More volcano activity in 2010 buried the island’s airport.

An “exclusion zone” covers the southern portion of the island, which bans visitors without a police permit due to volcanic activity.

There is a master plan to redevelop Montserrat, which is located in the Leeward Islands part of the Lesser Antilles chain. That effort calls for creation of a new capital city.

Montserrat is called the “Emerald Isle” of the Caribbean for its resemblance to Ireland and Irish ancestry of part of its population.

Oliver Cromwell exiled Irish political prisoners, unemployed, peasants, widows and orphans to Montserrat to work as slaves or indentured servants.

Ireland and Montserrat are the only countries in the world to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day as a public holiday.