Shane Connaughton (born 4 April 1941 in Kingscourt, County Cavan[1][2]) is an Irish writer and actor, probably best known as co-writer of the Academy Award-nominated screenplay for My Left Foot.[3] He also co-wrote the screenplays for the Academy Award-winning 1980 short film The Dollar Bottom and 1992 film The Playboys, as well as other screenplays and plays. He won the Hennessy Award in 1985.[4]
Connaughton is the author of the books A Border Station (1989), The Run of the Country (1991), and Big Parts (2009).[3][5] He adapted The Run of the Country for the screen in 1995 and published a book about its filming, A Border Diary, the same year.[4] A Border Station, a short story collection, was a bestseller in Ireland and was shortlisted for the Guinness Peat Award.[6] His first two books are both set in the County Cavan village of Redhills, where he grew up, and The Playboys and The Run of the Country were filmed there.[2]
Connaughton attended Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and has worked as a theatre and film actor,[2] appearing in Coronation Street, Mike Leigh's Four Days in July, Neil Jordan's The Miracle, and The Playboys, among other roles. He acted in the 2020 award-winning black comedy, Redemption of a Rogue.
Connaughton is married and has two children. He lives in London much of the time.[2]