[2] He studied at Cathal Brugha Street DIT, and holds a H.Dip (Higher Diploma) in Hotel and Catering Management, and an M.Sc., from Dublin Institute of Technology,[3] as well as a B.Sc.
[5][7][8] He worked from 2005 to 2014 in Forfás, an Irish state-funded policy agency which advised government on enterprise, trade, science, technology, and innovation, with a staff of 90.
[8] Shanahan highlighted the availability of talent above all, and satisfaction with the quality of the country's third-level education system, as reasons why Ireland has been so popular with multinational companies.
[17][18][19] In June 2017 Shanahan was criticized for filling only one of ten positions that his office had been given to hire people to attract companies to Ireland that were leaving the UK due to Brexit.
[21][22] As of December 2017, several major financial firms based in the UK had chosen to go to Frankfurt, Luxembourg, Brussels, or Paris,[23] and in January 2018 Shanahan reported that no new jobs had been created in Ireland due to Brexit and that he expected to see the outcome of his office's efforts at the end of 2018 or the beginning of 2019.
[29] During the interview, long-standing CNBC presenter Joe Kernen asked unusual questions including:[30] "Do tax breaks lead to better golfers?"
[39][40] In 2023, investigative news website The Ditch reported that Shanahan, along with then Taoiseach Enda Kenny and then Junior Minister for Enterprise Damien English, announced the creation of 50 jobs in 2014 linked to the now defunct Succeed in Ireland scheme.
[45] In June 2023, Martin Shanahan was announced as taking up a role as a partner, and head of the "FDI and Industries" function at professional services provider Grant Thornton Ireland.