Originally from Drumcondra, Graves has lived in Swords since the early 1990s. She has three children and one grandchild. Before entering politics, she worked as a shop steward for the SIPTU trade union in the education sector.[2]
Graves began her political involvement in Fingal by supporting the campaign of Louise O'Reilly, a Sinn Féin TD for the former five-seat Fingal constituency. Graves was co-opted onto Fingal County Council in 2018 and subsequently elected in the 2019 Irish local elections.[2]