He joined "The Irish Times" as a columnist in 1988 and his columns have appeared twice-weekly ever since. He took a sabbatical in 1990–1991 to work as literary adviser to the Abbey Theatre. In 1994 he was one of the presenters for the last season of BBC TV's "The Late Show". From 1997 to 2001 he was drama critic of the "Daily News" in New York. In 2011, he was appointed as literary editor of "The Irish Times". He also has published articles regularly in the "New York Review of Books".