Westmeath Women: The story of Margaret 'Peg' Plunkett

“She was prepared to fight back, she was never just a victim, she was prepared to say ‘this is who I am, get used to it’.” The words of historian Ruth Illingworth on a famed Westmeath madam, Peg Plunkett.

Westmeath has been punching above its weight on the world stage for years, with the Lake County’s renown extending to musicians, artists, politicians and aristocrats.

Inevitably, because of this, many interesting characters slip through the cracks. One such person was Margaret (Peg) Plunkett.

Unconventional, single-minded and determined the life of Peg Plunkett, has all the all the hallmarks of thrilling novel.

She was well known for being one of Georgian Dublin’s most famous brothel madams and, notably, a strong and assertive character.

Much of what we know about Margaret is from her memoirs, which have been released as autobiographies over the years, and because of this, many of her claims may need to be taken with a pinch of salt.

Nonetheless, her story makes for an interesting insight into life as a woman in 18th-century Dublin.

What we do know is that Margaret was born in the Delvin area, with some reports suggesting she was from the townland of Killaugh.

There are some question marks around her birthdate of 1727, with some suggesting it could have been around 1736.

She was born to a well-known and quite wealthy farmer from the area named Matthew Plunkett, with her mother being named as an O’Reilly from Cavan.

Margaret’s turbulent relationship with men began when her mother died, and she was sent to live with her brother and uncle in Cavan.

According to Ruth: “The brother seems to be a somewhat brutal individual, so as soon as she could, she got far away from him.”

She left her family home and moved to Dublin as a teenager, where she began a relationship with a man and eventually got pregnant.

Unfortunately, this child passed away, and throughout her life, she would have five more children, all of whom would pass away, and the relationship would collapse after this.

From there, she began seeing a man named Joseph Leeson, and interestingly, she would take his last name, despite never being married to him.

After this relationship ended, she went on to set up a brothel. The success of the venture prompted her to set up multiple across the city, the main one located where the Westbury Hotel is now, on Drogheda Street.

Soon Margaret became the go-to brothel madam for Georgian Dublin’s powerful and wealthy, cementing herself within the echelons of high society, although she never lost her character.

Margaret’s tough nature shone through when she and some of her colleagues were attacked by a group of students from Trinity College, and she was badly beaten. She then took her abusers to court and won.

Ruth Illingworth said: “What I notice about her is that she seemed to be quite a feisty woman, if she was wronged, she didn't dwell on it, but she took action, and she had success in taking action.

“She seems to have been good-humoured, well educated, sharp, intelligent, and she was sexually assertive.

“On her assertiveness, she is said to have refused to work with the Earl of Westmoreland as a client, simply because she didn't like the way he treated his wife, which shows you what kind of character she was.”

At the peak of her career, Margaret’s clients consisted of some of the most important people in Dublin at that time.

Amongst her clients were members of Parliament, members of the House of Lords and top businessmen.

One of her most notable proported clients was the Duke of Rutland, who was the Viceroy of Ireland.

What is certain is that Margaret was a prominent figure in Georgian Dublin, carrying great respect in the area, often recruiting actresses from London, and convincing them to move to Dublin and work for her.

Margaret would continue to be a key figure among Dublin’s brothels for the next 30 years, before eventually retiring.Since she lived a somewhat extravagant lifestyle among Dublin’s elite, Margaret eventually ran out of money and ended up in a debtor's prison after failing to pay back the debts she owed.

Upon her released from prison she began writing her memoirs, writing three volumes of memoirs near the end of her life, and some reports suggest she pressured past clients for money to keep their names out.

Margaret spent much of her life being mistreated by men, often violently, although she never let it dilute her character.

Unfortunately, her death would be no different, as she passed away from injuries sustained in 1797 following a brutal attack by multiple men in Drumcondra.

Speaking on Margaret’s story, Ruth Illingworth said: “I think she was a fairly traumatised person: you can see the patterns in the relationships she was in, unfortunately, they just didn't work out for her.

“She was always being abandoned or knocked about, and I think she was able to exercise a degree of control over her life in the brothels, as she was running them.

“What's interesting about her is that there are no suggestions that there was a man in the background running the show; she was the boss.

“This was an era when women had very few opportunities, there wasn't much in the way of rights for women, and somehow Peg was able to shine bright despite all of that."