Born and raised in the Turner's Cross area of Cork, Martin was the son of Paddy Martin (1923-2012), a former soldier in the Defence Forces,[REF] CIÉ employee and Irish international boxer, and Eileen "Lana" Corbett (1929-2010).
In 2009 he published his MA thesis as a book: Freedom to Choose: Cork and Party Politics in Ireland 1918-1932 [REF].