It's a challenge to trace an immigrant in their home country, Paul, but it can be done. It appears that James may have been a soldier when he came to Nova Scotia, so its possible there are some UK records showing his enlistment that might give you more information.
I suspect if you retag your question with Ireland, you may get some responses from people who are familiar with the sources there. At the moment, you're drawing attention from Nova Scotia, which isn't what you seem to be looking for.
Either way, just as food for thought, one of the reasons we ask for sources is to allow others the opportunity to add to your work, rather than duplicating the research you've already done.