Hook has had a number of jobs, beginning as a temporary clerk for CIÉ, and later becoming a travelling salesman for the Burroughs Corporation (now Unisys).

He coached London Irish and Connacht as well as the United States national team in the 1987 Rugby World Cup.

[5] His wife, "the lovely Ingrid", was regularly subjected to having her intimate details discussed and dissected on air by Hook.

[citation needed] On 26 January 2014, Hook announced that he would retire from Newstalk in 2016 and television punditry after the 2015 Rugby World Cup but RTÉ lost the right for Irish broadcasting to TV3.

However, on 17 March the same year, Hook announced that he would retire from television punditry saying he would never watch the RTÉ rugby panel again.

[13] Hook is also the patron of Comber Foundation, an Irish charity working in Romania since 1991, of which his daughter Michelle McGill is a trustee.