wife's family

I did some family history research on my wife's family. They are from the Sunderland area and I discovered that her great grandfather (on her father's side) came over from Sligo in Ireland and settled in the area, working as a coal miner. He is the root of her family name in that area. He married his neighbour's daughter. I didn't try to research this Irish side of my wife's family, but concentrated on her great grandmother's family (the neighbour's daughter). I discovered that this family were also of Irish descent and that they had moved to the North East of England from the London area, where they were engaged in the business of unloading colliers in the London dock area. I discovered that my wife's great-great grandfather and great-great grandmother had met in Shadwell and married in the parish church that has a direct connection with the school that I went to (Raine's Foundation School and St George's in the East), which has its roots in the Wapping/Stepney areas. There is a memorial to the school's founder, Henry Raine in the church grounds and we always held our Founder's day service at the church (which is a Hawksmoor church). I believe that they married in this Anglican church, because there were no Roman Catholic churches available to them in those times.