![]() ![]() From the 1870s, there was no shortage of powers available to the police to shut down brothels and arrest their occupants. Firstly, the area was far enough from respectable eyes to enable the containment of prostitution away from upper and middle-class residential districts. In a second essay, O’Keeffe and Ryan propose three reasons why this small part of the north inner city became one of Europe’s most notorious red-light districts. Why did the Monto come about? Early nineteenth century records suggest that prostitution was more prevalent on the south side of the city with one of the city’s better known Madames, Margaret Leeson, setting up shop in Pitt St, now Balfe St, site of the Westbury Hotel (and the subject of this blog’s first post). They have used the Ordnance Survey maps of the city to trace the growth and decline of prostitution in this small area. ![]() They write that there is little surviving of the Monto today, with streets, houses, and street names cleared away. Oddly, my awareness of the Monto came about through a gift of the book Science and Technology in Nineteenth Century Ireland, which contains an essay by Tadhg O’Keeffe and Patrick Ryan. ![]() 1840 shows many street names before they were changed. ![]() There is no specific boundary for the Monto, but it is considered to be within the boundaries of Gardiner St (to the left/west), Talbot St (to the south), Amiens St (to the east) and Gloucester St to the north. ![]()
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