He was accepted as a member by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) in 1981. His first professional tournament was the 1981 International Open, where he lost 1–5 to Murdo MacLeod in the first qualifying round. He also lost in his first qualifying matches at the 1981 UK Championship (7–9 to Geoff Foulds); the 1982 Irish Professional Championship (1–6 to Tommy Murphy); and the 1982 World Snooker Championship (8-9 to Eddie Sinclair). Although he recorded a number of match victories in the following seasons, he did not reach further than the last 32 of a major tournament. He compiled a of 141 against Tony Kearney in the qualifying rounds of the 1988 World Snooker Championship that was, at the time, the highest break ever made in the world championship qualifying rounds.