He was christened with the forenames "Bernard Francis" but changed his name to "Brian" in his youth.
[2] McGuinness was a Fellow and Tutor at Queen's College in Oxford University from 1953 to 1988, and took a post at the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study.
[3] During his time at Queen's, he was an invited speaker at the Oxford Socratic Club, speaking with J. D. Mabbott on "The Problem of Free Will" on 14 November 1955.
His son, Paddy McGuinness, is a former British civil servant who was the Deputy National Security Adviser for Intelligence.
[4] His daughter, Catherine McGuinness, is a lawyer with a senior position in the City of London Corporation.