[3] Prior to entering firefighting, Shaw was in the British Army, followed by a spell as Chief Constable of Belfast Borough Police.

Shaw was born in Ballymore, County Cork, Ireland and was educated first at a school in the nearby town of Cobh, and then at Trinity College, Dublin where he graduated in 1847.

[4][5] Shaw was originally set on taking holy orders to become a priest, but following his degree, he decided to travel to the United States.

[4] In 1860 Belfast Corporation advertised for someone to be the superintendent of both police and fire services for the city, and Shaw submitted his CV for consideration.

He was credited with quelling rioting between Catholics and Protestants whilst maintaining the respect of both, as well as transforming a poorly organised fire service,[6] including making extensive recommendations for modernisation of equipment and practices.

Sloping floors in fire stations allowed engines to move out more easily ('on the run', a term still used today).

After his resignation from the fire service, Shaw became managing director of the Palatine Insurance Company and chairman of the Metropolitan Electricity Board.

Theatres were frequent sources of fire, with combustible scenery covered in oil paints in close proximity to naked flame gas lamps.

In 1887, the devastating Exeter Theatre Royal fire claimed the lives of 186 people, and Shaw was appointed to conduct a parliamentary inquiry (with a jury) and to report back.

Shaw was present in the stalls at the first night of Iolanthe in 1882, and Alice Barnett, playing the Fairy Queen, addressed herself directly to him.