Bohan was born on a small farm near the village of Drumlish, County Longford on 23 November 1932, the third of seven children to James and Bridget Bohan. At age 15, he left for Dublin to join his two older brothers and started working in a grocers shop in the city. As he learned the retail trade he became involved in the confectionery business and by age 19 had a few vans on the road and a small factory producing sweets and fancy goods.
At age 23, he married Elizabeth Lambert from Rathmines and in the 1950s they decided to emigrate to North America, and spent 6 years living in Los Angeles where he became involved with the motor trade, starting off working for Chevron in a gas station and progressing to owning 3 stations of his own.
On returning to Dublin, he entered into a new career path by buying his first licensed premises, Bohans of Meath Street. He would go on to buy and run a number of well known Dublin pubs over the years. During this period he became Chairman of the Licensed Vintners Association who nominated him to run for election on the Industrial and Commercial Panel in the 1987 Seanad elections where he won the first of his five election campaigns holding a seat for 20 years.
^"Eddie Bohan". Oireachtas Members Database. Archived from the original on 31 October 2019. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
^"Eddie Bohan". Electionsireland.org. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
^"Quarterly List of Defaulters: part II"(PDF). Revenue Commissioners. 25 September 2007. Archived from the original(PDF) on 19 November 2007. List compiled pursuant to section 1086 of the taxes consolidation act, 1997, in respect of the period beginning on 1 April 2007 and ending on 30 June 2007, of every person – in whose case the Revenue Commissioners accepted a settlement of the kind mentioned in Subsection (2) of the said Section 1086.