At eight years old, she saw her father speak at many socialist clubs in Glasgow, she thereafter became a devotee of socialist politics. She moved to Belfast in 1910 for work, and her family followed soon after. She participated in her first strike whilst working in Belfast over the conditions in which factory workers were being forced to work under. While she was in Belfast she became a founding member of the Young Republican Army and of the girl's branch of the Fianna. She was also a founding member of Cumann na mBan in Belfast. In 1914, plans were being put in place for a rebellion in Ireland. She and her sister helped courier ammunition and arms to hiding places for Erskine Childers and were then rewarded with two rifles. She was then sent to America with a message from her father about the rising planned for 1916.