He was son of the diplomat Carlos Martínez de Irujo y Erice, 1st Marquis of Casa Irujo, and his wife Sarah MacKean, daughter of the Pennsylvania governor Thomas McKean.
Since 1973 he has directed the School of Ethology of the Scientific cultural center Ettore Majorana in Erice.
Besides the capital Trapani, other cities and places of interest in the province include Segesta, Gibellina, Erice, Castelvetrano, Alcamo, Marsala, Mazara del Vallo, Castellammare del Golfo, and Mozia.