Hi Dave, Wow, I have no knowledge about the family leaving Ireland. I located them in Derry as one brother Francis (who came to NZ) was nominated by his sister Catherine and the address on the nomination form was "Castle Dawson, County Derry, Ireland". I have then been able to find a baptism for another in their local church at Newbridge.
Do you have a birth date for Philip Sarsfield Heeney? Do you know of any other siblings for Philip?
None of the 9 Heeney siblings who came to NZ seem to have had more than one Christian name that I have been able to find a mention of.
Do you know of a Bernard Heeney as he was also nominated to come to NZ but I cannot find any trace of him arriving out here.If you contact me off list we may be able to have a more detailed conversation. I could setup for a Skype session if interested if we can get the times sorted between NZ and England or the US - I am not sure where you are located but I am really keen to keep exploring this connection.