Josen Shire was a male Human slave held by the Serpent Masters of Ophideraan during the Galactic Civil War period, and he was also the father of Tanith Shire. Prior to 0 ABY by a number of years, Shire and his daughter were forced to crash-land on Ophideraan and were subsequently enslaved by the Serpent Masters, a group of bandits who rode lizard mounts and controlled that desolate planet.
After working for several years to keep the Great Well operational, Shire's daughter Tanith—who had permission to work outside the planet, guiding salvage ships to Ophideraan—came back accompanied by Rebel operative Luke Skywalker. During his stay on Ophideraan, Shire met the young Force-user and assisted Skywalker while he attempted to depose the Serpent Masters and liberate those they had enslaved.
Josen Shire's debut was in The Serpent Masters, a story within the Star Wars comic strip created by Archie Goodwin and published in 1981, with artwork by Al Williamson. While Shire's name wasn't mentioned when he first appeared, his first name was later revealed in the Databank entry for his daughter, Tanith.