William Shaw (Irish politician)

William Shaw (4 May 1823 – 19 September 1895) was an Irish Protestant nationalist politician. 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 then studied theology at Highbury College in Middlesex. 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.

Shaw stood as a Liberal Party candidate in Bandon, at the 1865 by-election and subsequent general election, but was defeated on both occasions. He stood in the same seat at the 1868 general election, and was elected as an independent Liberal. While generally supportive of William Ewart Gladstone, he became active in the new Home Government Association, and in 1873, he presided over the convention held to found its successor, the Home Rule League.

At the 1874 general election, Shaw was elected unopposed for County Cork, and with Mitchell Henry, often deputised for Home Rule Party leader Isaac Butt. He remained loyal to Butt, and when Butt died in 1879, Shaw was selected as the new party chairman.

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