Many thanks for your prompt and most comprehensive response Maureen and Geoff, I¹m very appreciative and I¹ve already approached the Tyneside Irish Centre, Maureen. I shall definitely follow up on your observations, Geoff, some very interesting comments and, yes, they were Roman Catholics. With regard to Irish intolerance, they experienced much more of this when they arrived on Teesside, particularly later when Fenianism became became an issue during the 1860s; I have some very interesting press reports of the time, with the newspapers being the amongst the main protagonists of the anti Irish campaign. One of these press cuttings suggests that one of the brothers was involved in the Fenian movement. Of course, later in the 19th century, Teesside became one of the most major Irish settlements in the country, Middlesbrough did have one cathedral, a Roman Catholic one. Regards Andrew Wood