Prostitution in Ireland is legal. However, since March , it has been an offence to buy sex. Street prostitution has declined considerably in the 21st century, with the vast majority of prostitution now advertised on the internet. Prostitution was both highly visible and pervasive in 18th-century Dublin , centred on Temple Bar and reflected the whole spectrum of socioeconomic class , from street prostitutes, through organised brothels to high class courtesans, who were often illegitimate daughters of the upper class.
A well known example was Margaret Leeson. The role of the prostitute in 18th-century Ireland was at least partly a product of the double standard of female sexuality. Typical of this was the way that venereal disease was constructed as being spread by prostitutes rather than their largely male clients. Female Irish prostitutes were frequently the victims of violence against women. These provided shelter but in return expected menial labour and penitence.
The most famous madam in the Dublin of the s was alleged female serial killer Dorcas "Darkey" Kelly who operated the Maiden Tower kip house on Copper Alley, off Fishamble Street in the southwest part of the city. Convicted of murdering and dismembering shoemaker John Dowling on St. Patrick's Day , Kelly was executed by partial hanging and burning at the stake on Gallows Road modern Baggot Street on 7 January After her execution she was waked by prostitutes on Copper Alley; thirteen of whom were arrested for disorder and sent to Newgate Prison, Dublin.
The Royal Barracks modern day Collins Barracks in Dublin was completed in and Barrack Street, which ran directly in front of it renamed Benburb Street in , [ 10 ] became associated with sex work over the centuries. As with most garrison towns in Ireland, [ 11 ] prostitution proliferated in areas surrounding Army barracks , as impoverished Irishwomen gravitated towards military personnel, who were in receipt of a steady income.
The area was comparable to the Monto in Dublin, whose sex trade reached its zenith from the s until the s and whose profits were also aided by the large number of troops stationed in the city over the period. The changing nature of Irish culture following the successful fight for Catholic Emancipation between and , saw a redefining of the status of women.
