Shane Connaughton is an Irish writer and actor, probably best known as co-writer of the Academy Award-nominated screenplay for My Left Foot

My Left Foot (film)

My Left Foot: The Story of Christy Brown is a 1989 drama film directed by Jim Sheridan and starring Daniel Day-Lewis. It tells the true story of Christy Brown, an Irishman born with cerebral palsy, who could control only his left foot. Christy Brown grew up in a poor, working class family, and...

. He also co-wrote the screenplays for the Academy Award-winning 1980 short film The Dollar Bottom

The Dollar Bottom

The Dollar Bottom is a 1980 short film directed by Roger Christian. It won an Academy Award at the 53rd Academy Awards in 1981 for Best Short Subject.-Cast:* Robert Urquhart - Headmaster* Rikki Fulton - Karl* Jonathan McNeil - Taylor 2...

and 1992 film The Playboys, as well as other screenplays and plays. He won the Hennessy Award in 1985.

Connaughton is the author of the books A Border Station (1989), The Run of the Country (1991), and Big Parts (2009). 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. A Border Station, a short story collection, was a bestseller in Ireland and was shortlisted for the Guinness Peat Award. His first two books are both set in the County Cavan

County Cavan

County Cavan is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Ulster. It is named after the town of Cavan. Cavan County Council is the local authority for the county...

 village of Redhills, where he grew up, and The Playboys and The Run of the Country were filmed there.

Connaughton attended Bristol Old Vic Theatre School

Bristol Old Vic Theatre School

The Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, opened by Laurence Olivier in 1946, is an affiliate of the Conservatoire for Dance and Drama, an organisation securing the highest standards of training in the performing arts, and is an associate school of the Faculty of Creative Arts of the University of the...

 and has worked as a theatre and film actor, appearing in Coronation Street

Coronation Street

Coronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...

, Mike Leigh

Mike Leigh

Michael "Mike" Leigh, OBE is a British writer and director of film and theatre. He studied theatre at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and studied further at the Camberwell School of Art and the Central School of Art and Design. He began as a theatre director and playwright in the mid 1960s...

's Four Days in July

Four Days in July

Four Days in July is a 1985 television film by Mike Leigh. Set and filmed in Belfast, the film explores the Troubles by following the daily lives of two couples on either side of Northern Ireland's religious divide, both expecting their first children...

, Neil Jordan

Neil Jordan

Neil Patrick Jordan is an Irish filmmaker and novelist. He won an Academy Award for The Crying Game.- Early life :...

's The Miracle

The Miracle (1991 film)

The Miracle is a 1991 drama film written and directed by Neil Jordan. It stars Beverly D'Angelo, Donal McCann, and Niall Byrne. It was entered into the 41st Berlin International Film Festival.-Plot:...

, and The Playboys, among other roles.

As a young lad in London, he enjoyed playing football and once had a trial with Leyton Orient (source: Neilson Kaufman, historian Leyton Orient FC)

Connaughton is married and has two children. He lives in London much of the time.

External links