After emigrating to the United States in 1953, Andrews worked in television journalism, served as a US Army stenographer during the Korean War, and met his wife, Bernadette, in New York.

At one stage, he publicly suggested that Fianna Fáil sever ties with the French Gaullists, their main allies in the European Democratic Alliance, deeming them too right-wing.

A particular passion of his was improving access to primary education in Africa, and he even sought to persuade Charles Haughey to visit the continent to witness its challenges firsthand, though without success.

[2] In a September 1986 interview with Hot Press, Niall Andrews expressed controversial views, advocating for a clearer separation of church and state and proposing the legalisation of brothels on "hygienic" grounds, though he emphasised his personal disdain for prostitution.

This provoked a sharp rebuttal from feminist journalist Nell McCafferty in her Irish Press column, where she detailed the exploitation and abuse of women in brothels linked to American military bases.

Andrews opposed capital punishment, supported contraception and the decriminalisation of homosexuality, but adhered to Fianna Fáil party positions in Dáil votes.

Andrews criticised the Irish justice system, contending that judges were disconnected from the realities faced by working-class defendants and lacked awareness of prison conditions.

He denounced American actions in Latin America, protested outside the US embassy in Dublin, and undertook a fact-finding mission to El Salvador.

He utilised his contacts in the Middle East to assist in securing the release of Western hostages held in Lebanon, including Brian Keenan and John McCarthy.

He opposed the economic sanctions on Iraq implemented after the 1991 Gulf War, arguing they caused significant harm to civilians and deepened divisions in the region.

[2] At the time of his death, he was involved in efforts to secure the release of the Miami Five: Cuban intelligence agents convicted of espionage in the United States in 2001.