Swift heavy ion beam irradiation induced modifications in metals has lead to a curiosity for evaluating the depth dependence of damage process that could be the source of deviation in their physical properties. In this context, the present work aims to study the conduction of electrons in pre- and post-ion irradiated copper nanowires. Cu nanowires of 80 nm diameter were synthesized using track-etched membranes via template-assisted electrodeposition technique. Nickel (Ni12+) ion beam of 160 MeV energy was made incident on cylindrical Cu nanowires along their axis at Inter University Accelerator Centre (IUAC) at New Delhi, India. X-ray diffraction pattern of pre- and post-ions irradiated Cu nanowires inveterate the polycrystalline nature of nanowires with cubic lattice geometry. The investigation of I–V characteristics indicated that irradiated Cu nanowires at various fluence sustained the ohmic behavior with different slopes except last fluence. Variation in transportation of electrons through the grain boundaries and increase in the amplitude of lattice vibrations may be responsible for the alteration of the electrical conductivity of the copper nanowires.