The centre uses high frequency shortwave radio, bouncing signals off the ionosphere to reach aircraft beyond the range of radar and VHF radio, which are limited by the curvature of the Earth. About 70 personnel, including more than 50 radio officers, staff the centre around the clock, managing air-ground communications across the Shanwick Oceanic Control Area and handling up to 1,800 flights a day.

AirNav Ireland runs the operation jointly with Avians, Iceland's air navigation service provider, extending coverage across both the Shanwick and Reykjavik Oceanic Control Areas and supporting thousands of flights between Europe and North America daily. Gerald Caffrey, Chief Executive of AirNav Ireland, marked the anniversary at a special exhibition at the Foynes Flying Boat Museum, saying "the unwavering commitment of the team has made Ireland's airspace one of the safest and most efficient in the world."

The station began on a 90-acre site near Shannon, where it first handled Morse code communications for transatlantic flying boats. Many of its early radio officers came from the Merchant Navy, and that lineage runs through the centre's staff today: Radio Officer Mike Kirwan joined in 1981, following his father, Dermod, who was among the original radio officers in 1936.

The station moved to its current purpose-built facility in 1951, around the time the industry shifted from Morse code to voice communications. In 1966, Ireland and the United Kingdom reached an agreement merging their regional oceanic responsibilities, creating the joint Shanwick operational framework still in use.

The centre's transmissions are powered by a companion facility at Urlanmore, which houses a large antenna array including five 225-foot log-periodic antennas.