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In the 1916 Easter Rising, she became a fully-fledged officer in the Irish Citizen Army and had fought in St. Stephen’s Green during the uprising, eventually surrendering and then sentenced to death.
Because she was a woman, however, Markievicz was spared the death penalty and was given a life sentence. One year later, in 1917, the Countess was given amnesty and released from Ailsbury Gaol in England.
In 1918, Markievicz was elected as a member of Sinn Féin, but due to the abstentionist policy of her party in refusing to swear allegiance to the monarch, she never took her seat in parliament.