Baron Shaughnessy, of the City of Montreal in the Dominion of Canada and of Ashford in the County of Limerick, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom

Peerage of the United Kingdom

The Peerage of the United Kingdom comprises most peerages created in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the Act of Union in 1801, when it replaced the Peerage of Great Britain...

. It was created in 1916 for the businessman and public servant Thomas Shaughnessy

Thomas Shaughnessy, 1st Baron Shaughnessy

Thomas George Shaughnessy, 1st Baron Shaughnessy, KCVO was an American-born Canadian railway administrator who rose from modest beginnings as a clerk and bookkeeper for the Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad Thomas George Shaughnessy, 1st Baron Shaughnessy, KCVO (6 October 1853 – 10 December...

, president of the Canadian Pacific Railway Company. He was succeeded by his eldest son, the second Baron, a Director of the CPR and of the Canadian Bank of Commerce

Canadian Bank of Commerce

The Canadian Bank of Commerce was a Canadian bank cofounded in 1867 by William McMaster. The Canadian Bank of Commerce opened in Toronto with a charter in 1866 that it purchased from the defunct Bank of Canada, which folded in 1858....

. His son, the third Baron, was a businessman and was also active in the House of Lords

House of Lords

The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....

. However, he lost his hereditary seat in parliament after the House of Lords Act 1999

House of Lords Act 1999

The House of Lords Act 1999 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that was given Royal Assent on 11 November 1999. The Act reformed the House of Lords, one of the chambers of Parliament. For centuries, the House of Lords had included several hundred members who inherited their seats;...

.

The line of the eldest son of the first Baron failed on the death of the third Baron's son, the fourth Baron, in 2007. The late Baron was succeeded by his second cousin, the fifth Baron, who is better known as the actor Charles Shaughnessy

Charles Shaughnessy

Charles George Patrick Shaughnessy, 5th Baron Shaughnessy , simply known as Charles Shaughnessy, is a British peer, and television, theatre and film actor. He is known for his roles on American television, as Shane Donovan on the soap opera Days of our Lives and as Maxwell Sheffield on the sitcom...

, star of the American TV comedy The Nanny

The Nanny

Nanny may refer to:* Nanny, a child's caregiver* A grandmother * A Cajun word for godmother * A female goat* Nanny , a 1981–83 British drama series starring Wendy Craig* Nanny of the Maroons...

and the soap opera Days of our Lives

Days of our Lives

Days of our Lives is a long running daytime soap opera broadcast on the NBC television network. It is one of the longest-running scripted television programs in the world, airing nearly every weekday in the United States since November 8, 1965. It has since been syndicated to many countries around...

. The fifth Baron's late father was Alfred Shaughnessy

Alfred Shaughnessy

Alfred James Shaughnessy , sometimes known as Freddy Shaughnessy, was an English scriptwriter and producer best known for being the script editor of Upstairs, Downstairs.-Early life:...

, a scriptwriter and producer, and son of the Hon. Alfred Shaughnessy, younger son of the first Baron. The heir presumptive to the title is David Shaughnessy

David Shaughnessy

David James Shaughnessy is a British-born theatre and television director, producer and actor. Educated at Eton College and the Central School of Speech & Drama, London. He started in repertory theatres all around the UK and went on to become a principal actor with the famous Old Vic Theatre...

, younger brother of the fifth Baron, an actor and producer.

Barons Shaughnessy (1916)

• Thomas George Shaughnessy, 1st Baron Shaughnessy
  Thomas Shaughnessy, 1st Baron Shaughnessy
  Thomas George Shaughnessy, 1st Baron Shaughnessy, KCVO was an American-born Canadian railway administrator who rose from modest beginnings as a clerk and bookkeeper for the Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad Thomas George Shaughnessy, 1st Baron Shaughnessy, KCVO (6 October 1853 – 10 December...
  
   (1853–1923)
• William James Shaughnessy, 2nd Baron Shaughnessy (1883–1938)
• William Graham Shaughnessy, 3rd Baron Shaughnessy (1922–2003)
• Michael James Shaughnessy, 4th Baron Shaughnessy (1946–2007)
• Charles George Patrick Shaughnessy, 5th Baron Shaughnessy
  Charles Shaughnessy
  Charles George Patrick Shaughnessy, 5th Baron Shaughnessy , simply known as Charles Shaughnessy, is a British peer, and television, theatre and film actor. He is known for his roles on American television, as Shane Donovan on the soap opera Days of our Lives and as Maxwell Sheffield on the sitcom...
  
   (b. 1955)

The heir presumptive

Heir Presumptive

An heir presumptive or heiress presumptive is the person provisionally scheduled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir or heiress apparent or of a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the position in question...

 is the present holder's younger brother David James Shaughnessy

David Shaughnessy

David James Shaughnessy is a British-born theatre and television director, producer and actor. Educated at Eton College and the Central School of Speech & Drama, London. He started in repertory theatres all around the UK and went on to become a principal actor with the famous Old Vic Theatre...

.