Document and Entity Information - shares	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2016	Oct. 28, 2016
Document And Entity Information [Abstract]
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Sep. 30, 2016
Amendment Flag	false
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Central Index Key	0000936402
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Trading Symbol	SHP, SHPG
Entity Registrant Name	Shire plc
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	Yes
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		903,175,914
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2016
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q3