Born in Woodfield, Clonakilty, County Cork, Michael Collins emigrated to London when he was sixteen, living with his sister Hannah in West Kensington. He worked initially with the British post office, a branch of the Customs and Excise Service, and later with Horne & Co, a firm of bankers. He was heavily involved with the Gaelic League and the Gaelic Athletic Association during his years in London and in 1914 he joined a London company of the Irish Volunteers. He returned to Ireland in 1916.