Steele spent a large portion of his life (20 years) in jails as a result of his actions against British security forces.
In the summer of 1935 Steele led IRA units in the defense of Catholic homes during the Lancaster Street riots (see The Troubles in Northern Ireland (1920–1922)).
[3] Also in 1935, Steele led an IRA raid on a RUC base within the grounds of Campbell College, a school in the east of the city.
While in jail, Steele was one of eight Irish Republican prisoners conducting a hunger strike demanding political status.
[5] In 1943 Steele, along with Patrick Donnelly, Ned Maguire and Hugh McAteer escaped from the Gaol through a trap door in the ceiling of a third floor toilet.
[6] Using knotted sheets, the men lowered themselves to the prison yard and used a hand made rope ladder to scale the 20 foot high wall.
In late 1943 Steele was sentenced to 12 years in jail and was subjected to 12 "strokes of the birch" (permissible under the Special Powers Act (Northern Ireland) 1922.
In the 1950 United Kingdom general election Steele stood for Sinn Féin in the West Belfast constituency.