No idea. Change of plans perhaps? Father was a scissorsmith - thought there might be better opportunities in Sheffield? The children had been born (c.1815-1830) in, or near, Templemore, Tipperary, site of the largest military barracks in Ireland - perhaps influenced by English soldiers? I had wondered if he had been a British soldier and stayed in Ireland after his discharge. But I'm not even sure they could do that. Might have also been a family tug-o-war. The mother had died and her sister (my g-g-g-granny) who had come here in 1855 (passage paid for by her two Famine Orphan daughters already here), seemed fairly determined to gather together her sister's brood. Her name and address is given on all the shipping doc entries. Haven't been able to pick up any sign of the family in 1851 English Census (making full use of wildcards and blank fields). And one of the sons married in Templemore 1853. A daughter married (in Sheffield) a guy who came from Borrisokane, where a couple of her siblings were baptised, so it looks as though the connection with Templemore was fairly strong; I'm inclined to think that the family had been there from around 1815 to the early 1850's. A whatsit-cousin has been to Ireland three times searching out records and registers and has done an amazing job of piecing our family together.