It's been some time since I looked at this site. Many thanks to you for replying and apologies for not replying.
I thought I would reply in some detail and ask if you have any ideas on how I could proceed. I've already scoured Ancestry.co.uk and 'googled' till my eyes are crossed.
You have got it right on both counts. I live in France and not in Ireland.
Secondly, I don't know the names of either of Francis' parents except that his mother was an Elizabeth Walsh born in Wicklow abt 1823. Francis George born in Cavan abt 1861, his brother James was born in 1858. They all appear in Hunslet, Leeds on the 1881 census but I cannot find any trace of them thereafter.
Francis married my gt. grandmother in 1884 and they had two daughters. The third daughter of the family, my grandmother was born in 1887. However, no father is named on her birth certificate. My gt. grandmother, describing herself as a widow, married again in 1893. I have not been able to find a registry entry of Francis George's death.
I'm left with several alternatives a) he went back to Ireland b) went to America c) died outside England d) died in England but the death was not registered or
e) he changed his name and went to live elsewhere in England.
If he did not die, then my gt. grandmother was a bigamist. I can live with this but would have liked to have known what happened to Francis as I will never know the name of my gt. grandfather.
Thank you again for responding to my message