He was a Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and one of the founders of the Irish home rule movement.
Born in Moy, County Tyrone, Shaw was connected with the Young Ireland movement, and studied at Trinity College Dublin without taking a degree.
He served as a Minister at an independent church in Cork from 1846 to 1850, then married and left his post to move into business.
[1] Shaw stood as a Liberal Party candidate in Bandon, at the 1865 by-election and subsequent general election, but was defeated on both occasions.
[1] Shaw devoted increasing amounts of his time to his chairmanship of the Munster Bank, and did not stand for Parliament at the 1885 general election.