Walter Shanly (11 October 1817 – 17 December 1899) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

civil engineer, author, businessman, and politician. He was known for his work on

railways Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

and

canals Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or river engineering, engineered channel (geography), channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport watercraft, vehicles (e.g. ...

but was overshadowed by his brother, Francis Shanly. Born in

Stradbally Stradbally () is a town in County Laois, Ireland, located in the midlands of Ireland along the N80 road, a National Secondary Route, about from Portlaoise. It is a townland, a civil parish and historic barony. It is known for its "Steam Ra ...

County Laois County Laois ( ; gle, Contae Laoise) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medie ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, the son James Shanly and Frances Elizabeth Mulvany, he immigrated to Upper Canada in 1836. In 1863, he was elected to the

Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada The Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada was the lower house of the legislature for the Province of Canada, which consisted of the former provinces of Lower Canada, then known as Canada East and later the province of Quebec, and Upper C ...

for the riding of

Grenville South Grenville South was a federal electoral district (Canada), electoral district represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1867 to 1904. It was located in the provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. It was created by the Bri ...

. In 1867, he was elected to the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Common ...

for the riding of Greenville South. A

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

, he was defeated in

1872 Events January–March * January 12 – Yohannes IV is crowned Emperor of Ethiopia in Axum, the first ruler crowned in that city in over 500 years. * February 2 – The government of the United Kingdom buys a number of forts on ...

and

1874 Events January–March * January 1 – New York City annexes The Bronx. * January 2 – Ignacio María González becomes head of state of the Dominican Republic for the first time. * January 3 – Third Carlist War &ndas ...

. He returned to politics upon the death of the current MP,

William Thomas Benson William Thomas Benson (20 April 1824 – 8 June 1885) was born at Kendal, England and, after some years in business in England, immigrated to Canada in 1858. In Montreal, Benson met a man with whom he formed a partnership to open the first ...

, who died in 1885. He was acclaimed in the resulting

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

and was re-elected in

1887 Events January–March * January 11 – Louis Pasteur's anti-rabies treatment is defended in the Académie Nationale de Médecine, by Dr. Joseph Grancher. * January 20 ** The United States Senate allows the Navy to lease Pearl Har ...

References

* * 1817 births 1899 deaths Irish emigrants to pre-Confederation Ontario Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942) MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from Canada West People from Stradbally Politicians from County Laois People from County Laois Immigrants to Upper Canada {{HistoricalConservative-Ontario-MP-stub