Baron Moynihan, of

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...

in the

County of York Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 19 March 1929 for the surgeon Sir Berkeley Moynihan, 1st Baronet, the son of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

recipient Andrew Moynihan. Sir Berkeley had already been created a Baronet, of

Carr Manor Carr Manor is a Victorian grade II listed house in Meanwood, Leeds, England, designed by Edward Schroeder Prior and built for Thomas Clifford Allbutt (1836–1925). In 1881 it replaced Carr Manor House, though retaining the 1796 stable block.W. ...

, in 1922.

Complete Peerage ''The Complete Peerage'' (full title: ''The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom Extant, Extinct, or Dormant''; first edition by George Edward Cokayne, Clarenceux King of Arms; 2nd edition revi ...

, vol. XIII, St Catherine Press, 1940, p. 455. The titles fell into a six-year period of dormancy while they were the subject of a dispute on the death of his grandson, the third Baron, in 1991. This involved a complex series of legal proceedings between the third Baron's two sons, born separately by his fourth and fifth wives; the third Baron had believed that the eldest boy, Andrew, was not his son, and favoured the younger, Daniel. They were joined in the dispute by Colin Moynihan, younger half-brother of the third Baron; in March 1994 Colin Moynihan applied for a

writ of summons A writ of summons is a formal document issued by the monarch that enables someone to sit in a Parliament under the United Kingdom's Westminster system. At the beginning of each new Parliament, each person who has established their right to attend ...

thereby challenging the legitimacy of both sons and claiming the title for himself.Emma Wilkins, "Moynihan appeals to the Queen in fight for peerage", ''The Times'', 12 March 1994. In 1996 the Family Division of the High Court ruled that the third Baron's divorce from his fourth wife Editha Eduarda had been obtained by fraud, meaning that his fifth marriage to Jinna Sabiaga had been

bigamous In cultures where monogamy is mandated, bigamy is the act of entering into a marriage with one person while still legally married to another. A legal or de facto separation of the couple does not alter their marital status as married persons. I ...

and his son by that marriage illegitimate.Andrew Pierce, "Lords clear way for Moynihan's return to politics", ''The Times'', 27 February 1997, p. 3. After this action had been decided, the Committee of Privileges of the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...

ordered DNA testing of Andrew Moynihan, which found that the third Baron was not his father. The Committee therefore resolved the disputed succession in favour of the petition from Colin Moynihan, summing up their decision by saying:

...that neither of the two sons purporting to be the sons of the third Baron can, in fact, be an heir to the peerage. In the case of the elder, Andrew, the committee was shown overwhelming genetic evidence that he cannot be the son of the late Lord Moynihan; and so far as the younger, Daniel, is concerned, the evidence clearly shows that he is the child of a bigamous marriage and is therefore illegitimate. In those circumstances, it is clear beyond doubt that the petitioner, Colin Moynihan, must be the rightful heir and that his Petitions must succeed.Lords Hansard text for 20 Mar 1997 (170320-03)
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Barons Moynihan (1929)

* Berkeley George Andrew Moynihan, 1st Baron Moynihan (1865–1936) * Patrick Berkeley Moynihan, 2nd Baron Moynihan (1906–1965) * Antony Patrick Andrew Caines Berkeley Moynihan, 3rd Baron Moynihan (1936–1991) (dormant 1991) * Colin Berkeley Moynihan, 4th Baron Moynihan (b. 1955) (claim proved 1997) The

heir apparent An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...

is the 4th Baron's elder son, The Hon. Nicholas Ewen Berkeley Moynihan (born 31 March 1994).

Arms

References

*Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Moynihan Baronies in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Noble titles created in 1929