William Shaw was born in The Moy, County Tyrone. He was a Congregational minister of a church in Cork for four years, but resigned in 1840. He went into business and became a director of the Munster Bank. In 1868 he was elected to parliament. He was an advocate of Home Rule and by 1873 was Chairman of the Home Rule Convention in Dublin. He was elected Home Rule Member of Parliament for County Cork and succeeded Butt as leader of the party in 1879. In the general election of 1880 he was re-elected for Cork but was replaced as party leader by Parnell. He withdrew from the Home Rule Party because of his differences of opinion with the Land League. He retired from politics in 1885, and with the insolvency of the Munster bank of which he was now Chairman, he became bankrupt.

Born:	4 May 1823
Died:	19 September 1895