After working on farms, in factories and city offices, Shane Connaughton trained as an actor at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. He has played leading parts in rep at Perth, Scarborough, Victoria Theatre Stoke-On-Trent, The Half National Theatre London, toured with 7:84 Theatre Company, Pirate Jenny, The Tricycle Theatre. His numerous television credits include Coronation Street. He has acted in films for Ken Loach, Mike Leigh, Gillies McKinnon, Jon Avnet and Peter Yates. He has written plays for the National Theatre (Sir is Winning), the Victoria Theatre (Western Coyney Cowboy), Half Moon Theatre (George Davis is Innocent OK), 7:84 (Relegated), Dublin Theatre Festival (Divisions). His film work includes the scripts for Every Picture Tells A Story, My Left Foot, The Playboys, The Run Of The Country, O Mary This London, Dollar Bottom, Tara Road.  For My Left Foot  he was nominated for an Academy Award. Dollar Bottom won the Academy Award for best “Live Action Short”.

He has won the George Devine Award, The Hennessy Literary Award, The London Irish Post Award. He has been the subject of two television documentaries A Border Childhood (BBC TV)and From Redhills to Beverly Hills (RTE).  A Border Station, his highly praised first novel, was shortlisted for The Guinness Peat Literary Award with the Irish Independent commenting  “Comparisons with the work of John McGahern and Patrick Kavanagh is inevitable…It is a tribute to Connaughton that his child’s view of life holds its own with those two giants.”

He has recently starred in his own play The Pitch at The New Theatre, Dublin and on tour around Ireland.