From the very beginning William Shaw had a keen eye for quality, presentation and service and knew the benefits of understanding and anticipating his customers’ needs. By the mid-nineteenth century, helped in no small part by the growing renown of Shaws, Limerick’s reputation for the provision of bacon and more particularly its hams, became the envy of the English speaking world. An early bill board advert for Shaw’s bacon and hams describes them as part of a “Luxury breakfast” and even goes so far to say, “as supplied to royalty.” Such a connection has an amusing Irish perspective to it, as ironically he was also President of the local Home Rule Association and was a keen writer and debater on political matters.

It was the unique flavour and quality of Shaws cooked hams however that was key to his achievements, a success which other cities in Britain tried to emulate. The story goes that bacon curers in Glasgow and Liverpool recruited workmen from around the Shaws premises in order to find the secret to his ham curing method. Their efforts of course proved unsuccessful, as by 1892, Shaws was recorded in the Commercial Directory of Limerick as being the second largest bacon curing establishment in Europe and by 1896 was one of the first businesses in Ireland to in use electricity throughout its entire production process.

As a member of the Harbour Commission and the local Chamber of Commerce, his horizons looked beyond the city walls in terms of his ambition to provide his customers with a variety of fine fare. A surviving price list from his business premises, dated 1905, shows even then the range of speciality meats as including; Bologna sausages, German sausages, braised brisket of beef and pressed spiced pork!

Today Shaws continues this tradition in expertly selecting, sourcing and preparing a variety of additional full flavoured quality foods for their ranges of; sliced cooked meats, breakfast meats and select continental meats as well as other meal options like 100% Irish beef Lasagne.