Joe Shaughnessy

Aberdeen

Shaughnessy signed for Aberdeen in June 2009, having previously played for Irish club Salthill Devon as a youngster. Shaughnessy made his debut on 14 May 2011 against Hibernian. A few days before making his debut, he signed a contract extension on a two-year deal. On 30 August 2011, Shaughnessy went on loan to Forfar Athletic until January, along with Nicky Low. Shaughnessy made his debut for the club on 11 September 2011 in a 1–0 win against Brechin City. He then scored his first goal for the club, in a 4–2 win over Stirling Albion on 17 September 2011. Shaughnessy would score twice in two games; in a 4–3 loss against East Fife on 1 October 2011 and another in a 1–1 draw against Arbroath on 15 October 2011. Ahead of the fourth round of the Scottish Cup, a tie against his parent club, manager Dick Campbell says he wouldn't put Shaughnessy and Low in the match against his parent club. Aberdeen won 4–0 and progressed to the next round. After impressing on loan, he went back to Forfar until the end of the 2011–12 season. He went on to make 26 appearances and scored three times.

Ahead of the 2012–13 season, manager Craig Brown believed Shaughnessy and Low had performed well at Forfar Athletic and considered him using them in the first team in the near future. In pre-season friendly matches, Shaughnessy scored twice in a 12–0 win over VfB Alstatte and a 2–1 win over Manchester United as part of Neil Simpson testimonial on 14 August 2012. On 7 December 2012,…

In May 2010, he was called up to the Republic of Ireland Under-18 squad. On 29 May 2011, Shaughnessy scored in his first cap for the Republic of Ireland Under-19s as they defeated Italy, securing qualification to the 2011 UEFA European Under-19 Championship. Shaughnessy would go on to feature heavily in the tournament, including starting as Ireland were eliminated in the semi-final by the tournament winners, Spain. In January 2013, Shaughnessy was called up to the Republic of Ireland Under-21 squad.

As of 16 May 2026

His younger brother Conor is also a professional footballer with Championship side Portsmouth.