Patrick Berkeley Moynihan, 2nd Baron Moynihan (29 July 1906 – 30 April 1965) was a

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and peer.

Early life

Moynihan was born in

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 populati ...

in 1906, the only son of the surgeon

Berkeley Moynihan, 1st Baron Moynihan Berkeley George Andrew Moynihan, 1st Baron Moynihan LL.D (2 October 1865 – 7 September 1936), known as Sir Berkeley Moynihan, 1st Baronet, from 1922 to 1929, was a noted British abdominal surgeon. Early years Moynihan was born in Malta i ...

. He studied

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

and became a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...

. He then became a

stockbroker A stockbroker is a regulated broker, broker-dealer, or registered investment adviser (in the United States) who may provide financial advisory and investment management services and execute transactions such as the purchase or sale of stocks an ...

, moving to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, where he was active during the

Wall Street Crash The Wall Street Crash of 1929, also known as the Great Crash, was a major American stock market crash that occurred in the autumn of 1929. It started in September and ended late in October, when share prices on the New York Stock Exchange colla ...

, then joined the

New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed c ...

in 1932."Obituary: Lord Moynihan", ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', 1 May 1965 He succeeded his father as 2nd Baron Moynihan in 1936.

Liberal Politics

Moynihan followed his father in taking the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

whip in the

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. By 1947, he was the treasurer of the party, and commented that he believed that the Labour Party's social reforms were close to the spirit of the Liberals, but that they ignored the individual. In 1949, he became the party chairman. His time as chairman was dominated by the 1950 general election, and a dispute with the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

, who ran National Liberal Party candidates under the label "Liberal and Conservative". In February 1950, an object hit Moynihan's car while he was driving in

Epping Forest Epping Forest is a area of ancient woodland, and other established habitats, which straddles the border between Greater London and Essex. The main body of the forest stretches from Epping in the north, to Chingford on the edge of the London ...

. He claimed that it might have been a

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, although he was unable to prove this. In 1950 and 1951, Moynihan served as President of the National Union of Liberal Clubs, and he again became the party treasurer. Long a friend of Edward Martell, in 1956 Moynihan was a founder member of his People's League for the Defence of Freedom, which claimed to combat the "tyranny of

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

s". The new organisation was opposed by the Executive of the Liberal Party, which was concerned that it was contemplating standing rival political candidates, and also opposed its calls for

strikebreaking A strikebreaker (sometimes called a scab, blackleg, or knobstick) is a person who works despite a strike. Strikebreakers are usually individuals who were not employed by the company before the trade union dispute but hired after or during the str ...

. The People's League became the

National Fellowship The National Fellowship was a minor right-wing libertarian conservative political party in the United Kingdom. History The party was launched under Chairman Edward Martell on 1 January 1962, with full page advertisements in national broadsheet ...

, which opposed

immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

and entry to the

Common Market The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisbo ...

. Because of his support for the new organisation, in 1962, Moynihan was removed as a vice-president of the Yorkshire Area Liberal Federation. In 1963, Moynihan resigned from the Liberal Party, citing his membership of Martell's latest organisation, the Freedom Group, which actively supported Conservative candidates. However, in 1964, he began disassociating himself from Martell, resigning his posts in Martell's organisations by early 1965.

Marriages & Children

Lord Moynihan married firstly Ierne Helen Candy on 8 April 1931. They had the following children: *

Hon Hon or HON may refer to: People * Han (surname) (Chinese: 韩/韓), also romanized Hon * Louis Hon (1924–2008), French footballer * Priscilla Hon (born 1998), Australian tennis player Other uses * Hon (Baltimore), a cultural stereotype of ...

Imogen Anne Ierne Moynihan (born 12 April 1932), married firstly Michael Edward Peter Williams (son of Wg Cdr Gwyn Herschell Jones Williams) on 3 September 1953, later divorced. She married, secondly, Charles Ivan Vance on 23 April 1965. * Hon Juliet Jane Margaretta Moynihan (born 18 April 1934, died 24 September 2006), married firstly Thomas Edwin Bidwell Abraham (son of

Maj Gen Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

William Ernest Victor Abraham) on 25 July 1958. She married secondly Harry Hougham Sparks in 1978. * Antony Patrick Andrew Cairnes Berkeley Moynihan, 3rd Baron Moynihan (born 2 February 1936, died 24 November 1991) They were divorced in 1952 and Lord Moynihan subsequently married June Elizabeth Hopkins on 28 November 1952. They had the following children: * Colin Berkeley Moynihan, 4th Baron Moynihan (born 13 September 1955) * Hon Melanie June Moynihan (born 19 August 1957)

Death

In April 1965, Lord Moynihan was charged with "persistently importuning for an immoral purpose". He was taken ill and died aged 58 on 30 April, a few days before he was due to appear at

Bow Street Magistrates' Court Bow Street Magistrates' Court became one of the most famous magistrates' court in England. Over its 266-year existence it occupied various buildings on Bow Street in Central London, immediately north-east of Covent Garden. It closed in 2006 and ...

. He was succeeded in the barony and baronetcy by his elder son Antony.The Peerage, entry for 2nd Baron Moynihan
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Arms

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moynihan, Patrick Berkeley 1906 births 1965 deaths Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Chairs of the Liberal Party (UK) English barristers English people of Irish descent Liberal Party (UK) hereditary peers English stockbrokers Politicians from Leeds 20th-century English lawyers 20th-century English businesspeople