Sir Charles Barry Shaw, (12 April 1923 – 30 September 2010) was a Northern Irish

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

. From 1972 to 1989, he served as the

Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is the head of the Public Prosecution Service of Northern Ireland, and is appointed by the Attorney General for Northern Ireland. The position of DPP was established in 1972. The current DPP is Stephen He ...

; he was the first holder of this post.

Early life and education

Shaw was born on 12 April 1923 in Balmoral,

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

, Northern Ireland. He was educated at Inchmarlo House in Belfast and at Pannal Ash College in

Harrogate Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and civil parish in the North Yorkshire District, district and North Yorkshire, county of North Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist de ...

, England.'SHAW, Sir (Charles) Barry', ''

Who Was Who ''Who's Who'' is a reference work. It has been published annually in the form of a hardback book since 1849, and has been published online since 1999. It has also been published on CD-ROM. It lists, and gives information on, people from around ...

'', A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2016; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2014; online edn, April 201
accessed 26 May 2017
/ref> After leaving school, he

matriculated Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term ''matriculation'' is seldom used now ...

into

Queen's University Belfast The Queen's University of Belfast, commonly known as Queen's University Belfast (; abbreviated Queen's or QUB), is a public research university in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. The university received its charter in 1845 as part of ...

to study science. He left university in 1942 to serve in the military. He returned to university in 1946, and switched to law. He graduated with a

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

(LLB) degree.

Military service

Shaw took a break from his university studies to serve in the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

during

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. On 5 December 1942, he was commissioned into the

Royal Regiment of Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

as a second lieutenant. He then served in the 97

Anti-Tank Anti-tank warfare refers to the military strategies, tactics, and weapon systems designed to counter and destroy enemy armored vehicles, particularly tanks. It originated during World War I following the first deployment of tanks in 1916, and ...

Regiment attached to the

15th (Scottish) Infantry Division The 15th (Scottish) Infantry Division was an infantry Division (military), division of the British Army that served during the World War II, Second World War. It was raised on 2 September 1939, the day before war was declared, as part of the Ar ...

. He saw active serve in the

Normandy Landings The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and ...

and in the North West Europe Campaign. He was

demobilised Demobilization or demobilisation (see American and British English spelling differences, spelling differences) is the process of standing down a nation's armed forces from combat-ready status. This may be as a result of victory in war, or becaus ...

in 1946.

Legal career

In 1948, Shaw was called to the

Bar of Northern Ireland The Bar of Northern Ireland is the professional association of barristers for Northern Ireland, with over 600 members. It is based in the Bar Library, beside the Royal Courts of Justice, Belfast, Royal Courts of Justice in Belfast, together with ...

, thereby becoming a

. From 1948 to 1952, he worked in private practice. He was appointed Junior Crown Counsel (a

prosecutor A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the adversarial system, which is adopted in common law, or inquisitorial system, which is adopted in Civil law (legal system), civil law. The prosecution is the ...

) for

County Fermanagh County Fermanagh ( ; ) is one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of six counties of Northern Ireland. The county covers an area of and had a population of 63,585 as of 2021. Enniskillen is the ...

, and then for

County Tyrone County Tyrone (; ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the thirty-two traditional counties of Ireland. Its county town is Omagh. Adjoined to the south-west shore of Lough Neagh, the cou ...

and

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, County Antrim, Antrim, ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, located within the historic Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the c ...

. In 1964, he was appointed Senior Crown Counsel for

County Londonderry County Londonderry (Ulster Scots dialects, Ulster-Scots: ''Coontie Lunnonderrie''), also known as County Derry (), is one of the six Counties of Northern Ireland, counties of Northern Ireland, one of the thirty-two Counties of Ireland, count ...

, and later for County Antrim and

. On 10 April 1972, he was appointed to the newly created position of

. As such, he was head of the

Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland The Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland (PPSNI) is the department of the Northern Ireland Executive responsible for public prosecutions of people charged with criminal offences in Northern Ireland. It is headed by the Director of P ...

"throughout the worst years of

the Troubles The Troubles () were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed t ...

". He retired from the post in 1989, and was succeeded by

Alasdair Fraser Alasdair Fraser (born 14 May 1955, Clackmannan, Scotland) is a Scottish fiddler, composer, performer, and recording artist. Fraser operates Culburnie Records and is a leading artist on the label. He has founded various summer fiddling prog ...

. In December 1964, Shaw was called to the Inner Bar of Northern Ireland, thereby becoming a

Queen's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

(QC). He was elected a

Bencher A bencher or Master of the Bench is a senior member of an Inn of Court in England and Wales or the Inns of Court in Northern Ireland, or the Honorable Society of King's Inns in Ireland. Benchers hold office for life once elected. A bencher c ...

in 1968. He was also called to Bar at

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

in 1970 which allowed him to practice as a barrister in England and Wales.

Personal life

In 1950, Shaw married Jean Boyd; they later divorced. In 1964, he married Jane (''née'' Phillips); she predeceased her husband, dying in January 2010. Shaw died on 30 September 2010, aged 87. A memorial service was held at Holy Trinity Church, Glencraig in

Holywood Holy Wood or Holywood may refer to: Places * Holywood, County Down, a town and townland in Northern Ireland ** Holywood, County Down (civil parish), a civil parish in County Down, Northern Ireland ** Holywood railway station (Northern Ireland) ...

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 552,261. It borders County Antrim to the ...

Honours

In the 1974 Queen's Birthday Honours, Shaw was appointed a

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregi ...

(CB) in recognition of his service as Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland (DPP). In the

1980 New Year Honours The 1980 New Year Honours were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 31 December 1979 to cele ...

, he was appointed a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised Order of chivalry, orders of chivalry; it is a part of the Orders, decorations, and medals ...

, and thereby granted the title ''sir'', in recognition of his service as DPP. On 4 March 1980, he was knighted by

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

during a ceremony at

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a royal official residence, residence in London, and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and r ...

. He was made an Honorary Bencher of

in 1986.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shaw, Barry 1923 births 2010 deaths Barristers from Northern Ireland Northern Ireland King's Counsel Knights Bachelor Lawyers awarded knighthoods Companions of the Order of the Bath Royal Artillery officers British Army personnel of World War II Alumni of Queen's University Belfast Members of the Middle Temple