St. Patrick’s Day Masquerade: Unmasking the Irish Planters of Montserrat
In memory of Cudjoe, a Montserratian Hero Poem By Shirley Spycalla
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Show me, please show me, oh Cudjoe, my liege The tall, silk cotton tree, I beg and besiege. The tree that bore your body as fettered you swung That strong body you nurtured when we were young. Show them, I beg you, Cudjoe, show your sons
The branch on the tree from which you were hung. You fought for their freedom on the 17th of March To end vicious serfdom and a life that was harsh.
Show her; please show her, your sweet loving wife The noose on the branch that ended your life. You led the uprising with strength and resolve To bring pride to your people and slavery to dissolve.
Show me; oh show me where they took your head That was cut from your body to ensure you were dead. History will judge us for the battle you fought Against the oppressors, if we let it come to naught.
Oh people of Montserrat , you’re all Cudjoe’s kin! You’re the sons he begat – you are not born in sin. Be strong; fight oppression; don’t let Cudjoe die in vain
Uphold your Constitution; seek justice through pain. Be not slaves to overspending, to corruption and greed
Be warriors for peace unending. Stand firm; with you I plead. For Cudjoe was your father who died for you and me
That day, on St. Patrick’s, when he hung from the tree!
“The Montserrat rebellion is significantly more than a national observation. Meaning, it is of regional and international importance because it is indisputable recorded history that ‘Montserrat proved to be the first of a series of conspiracies formed by organizations of Creoles’ (Michael Mullins, Slave Resistance, p. 221). So let it be confirmed in your mind that acts of bravery; organized resistance, rebellion against evil and conquest is in the genetic make-up of Montserratians."
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