[2] There had been discussion of whether to establish a distinct, partisan support group for the IRSM from at least 1981, as October of that year was the first time someone was allowed to join the Irish Republican Socialist Party while resident in North America, when activists Caitlin Hines and Peter Urban were admitted to the party, but it was agreed that a broad front type of formation best suited the needs of the IRSM at the time.

Delegates to the founding convention came from New York City, Washington, DC, San Francisco, Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Eugene, Oregon, with fraternal greetings received from Vancouver, British Columbia and Regina, Saskatchewan.

[5] The IRSCNA grew steadily, creating in new chapters in the states of Florida, Arizona, Virginia, Washington, Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Ohio, as well as the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario.

One of the most notable of these trips was the stay by the two daughters of slain INLA volunteer Ronnie Bunting to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, which served as the basis for the documentary film, We Are a River Flowing.

Members of the IRSCNA also represented the IRSP at a political prisoners' conference held in San Juan, Puerto Rico, as well as numerous events within the United States and Canada.