Shane Connaughton (born 4 April 1941 in

Kingscourt Kingscourt, historically known as Dunaree (), is a town in County Cavan, Ireland. It is located near the Cavan–Meath border. The town was founded near the site of the old village of Cabra, by Mervyn Pratt, towards the end of the 18th century ...

County Cavan County Cavan ( ; gle, Contae an Chabháin) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Ulster and is part of the Border Region. It is named after the town of Cavan and is based on the historic Gaelic territory of East Breffny (''Bréifn ...

Hogan, Sinead.
Shane Connaughton brings it all home to his beloved native county
'' The Anglo-Celt''. 4-29-2009.) is an Irish writer and actor, probably best known as co-writer of the Academy Award-nominated screenplay for '' My Left Foot''.Welch, Robert, and Bruce Stewart.
The Oxford Companion to Irish Literature

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print book ...

, 1996. p. 112. He also co-wrote the screenplays for the Academy Award-winning 1980 short film '' The Dollar Bottom'' and 1992 film ''

The Playboys ''The Playboys'' is a 1992 Irish film directed by Gillies MacKinnon and starring Albert Finney, Aidan Quinn and Robin Wright. The plot follows an unwed young mother whose life is transformed with the arrival of a travelling troupe of actors ...

'', 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.How to Write--Meet the Writers: Shane Connaughton
''

BBC World Service The BBC World Service is an international broadcasting, international broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC, with funding from the Government of the United Kingdom, British Government through the Foreign Secretary, Foreign Secretary's o ...

''. ''A Border Station'', a short story collection, was a bestseller in Ireland and was shortlisted for the

Guinness Peat Award Guinness Peat Aviation (GPA) was a Commercial Aircraft Sales and Leasing company set up in 1975 by Aer Lingus, the Guinness Peat Group (a London-based financial services company) and Tony Ryan, then an Aer Lingus executive. History GPA was ...

.Milligan, Bryce
Crossing Irish borderlands into self-awareness
''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...

''. 4-7-1992. His first two books are both set in the

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 and has worked as a theatre and film actor, appearing in ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based ...

'',

Mike Leigh Mike Leigh (born 20 February 1943) is an English film and theatre director, screenwriter and playwright. He studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and further at the Camberwell School of Art, the Central School of Art and Design ...

's '' Four Days in July'',

Neil Jordan Neil Patrick Jordan (born 25 February 1950) is an Irish film director, screenwriter, novelist and short-story writer. His first book, ''Night in Tunisia'', won a Somerset Maugham Award and the Guardian Fiction Prize in 1979. He won an Academy ...

's '' The Miracle'', and ''The Playboys'', among other roles. Connaughton is married and has two children. He lives in London much of the time.

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Connaughton, Shane 1941 births Living people Irish writers People from County Cavan Alumni of Bristol Old Vic Theatre School Irish male film actors Irish male television actors