I suspect this is similar to another long running debate on these boards where an early decision on a Manx background was decided on a loose match with names in the IGI, for which later research found no solid foundation - I suspect Bob is correct in that an Irish base is probably much more likely - however the majority early Irish records were destroyed in 1922 during the Irish civil war when the Records Office in the Four Courts being used to store ammunition etc by the rebels blew up thus researching the Belfast branch might be quite difficult.