Conor Brady served as the editor of The Irish Times for 16 years. He had previously edited the Sunday Tribune. During his tenure at the Times, Ireland's paper of record, circulation grew from 80,000 to about 120,000. Judged to be an excellent editor, his legacy was somewhat marred when the paper suffered financial problems in his final year as editor. In 2002, he was succeeded by Geraldine Kennedy, the first female national newspaper editor in Ireland.

Brady was educated at University College Dublin, where he edited the college paper.