The Fighting Woman of Merthyr Tydfil

by Carolyn Jacob

A hundred years ago women of very masculine (and muscular) proportions were often summoned for assaulting other women, fighting with men and even attacking the police. Mostly the regular fights took place in a public house and in 1912 the Merthyr Tydfil Police paid 10,386 visits to public houses in 3 months to either deal with serving out of hours or to referee and sort out fights taking place there. There were certain women whose names came up frequently in the Police Courts. Such a one was Margaret Hagerty.

In April 1903 the boxer Redmond Coleman was charged before the Merthyr Tydfil Police Court with living on the prostitution of women, especially Margaret Hagerty, a dipsomaniac whose favourite drink was gin. He may have been the toughest man in the tough town of Merthyr Tydfil, but on more than one occasion it was Margaret who fought to protect him from the law.

One local legend concerning her was that she stood on the Iron Bridge stripped to the waist and challenged all comers to a fight. Maggie Hagerty is mentioned frequently in the Merthyr Police Reports for drunkenness, robbery and insulting language. After she was convicted of drunk and riotous behaviour in Riverside on a Saturday night in November 1910, Margaret Hagerty, when asked if she had anything to say she said “There’s not much good saying anything. I’ve done a lot of prison.” This was her 73rd appearance in the Police Court.

In 1911 she tried her utmost to prevent the police taking Redmond to the station by stabbing an officer with her hat pin. She was taken in herself and managed to break nine windows in the Merthyr Police Station. Although in 1916, on her 98th court appearance, she claimed to have ‘given up fighting’, Margaret continued to be mentioned in the Merthyr Express and in November 1921 she was reported thus:-

“Margaret Hagerty a middle aged woman was arrested for insulting language at Riverside. She produced carpenter’s tools which she claimed Julie Murphy had used against her. The girl had called her a robber. Case was dismissed. The Chief Constable said she was the worst woman he had to deal with in Merthyr.”