Shane Connaughton was born in 1941 in Kingscourt, County Cavan and his teenage years were spent in Redhills where his father was the local Garda sergeant. He attended Bristol Old Vic Theatre school and came to prominence in 1980 when along with James Kennaway he co wrote the screen play for the Academy Award winning ‘The Dollar Bottom’ directed by Roger Christian and collaborated with Mike Leigh on ‘Four Days in July’, a film about the Troubles in Northern Ireland and screened in 1985.

He also co wrote the screen play with Jim Sheridan for ‘My left Foot’ which won five Academy Awards and is a film based on the life of writer-painter Christy Brown. Connaughton wrote the novel 'A Border Station' published in 1989 which is a series of stories about a young boy’s relationship with his father and mother set along the Ulster border where his father is the local Garda sergeant. This book mirrors Connaughton’s own upbringing in Redhills. Shane is also the author of 'The Run of the Country' (1991) also set in Redhills and 'Big Parts' published (2009). In 2017, he wrote 'Married Quarters', the acclaimed sequel to 'A Border Station'.

Shane Connaughton wrote the script for 'The Playboys' (1992) directed by Gilles MacKinnon which starred Albert Finney and Aidan Quinn and was shot on location in Redhills and also adapted 'The Run of the Country' (1995) directed by Peter Yates for the screen which was about the relationship between a son and his widowed father. Albert Finney also appeared in this film with Matt Kessler.

Works

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