The name has been well represented in its original homeland throughout the centuries up to the present day.

This is one of the "O" names with which the prefix has been widely retained, O'Dowd being more usual than Dowd. Other modern variants are O'Dowda and Dowds, with Doody and Duddy, found around Killarney, where a branch of the Connacht family settled.

All are O'Dubhda in Irish, the root word being "dubh" black. A quite distinct minor sept of O'Dubhda was located in County Derry. Survivors of this in Ulster today are usually called Duddy.

Several O'Dowds were bishops of the see of Killala. Father John O'Duada, who was tortured and hanged in 1579 was one of the many Irish Franciscan martyrs. Many of the name appear in the ranks of the Confederate Catholics and, later in the seventeenth century, in King James's army. The head of the sept at that time, who was killed at the battle of the Boyne, is said to have been seven feet tall, and it is noteworthy that great height is a feature of this family. In more recent times the best known is Rev. Patrick Dowd (1813-1891), the Irish priest who did so much for the Catholic community of Montreal.

HERALDRY

The Sept coat of arms of O'Dubhda are recorded by the Office of the Chief Herald of Ireland and also in Burke's General Armoury of England, Scotland, Ireland an Wales as:

Vert a saltire or, in chief two swords in saltire, points upward, the dexter surmounted of the sinister, argent pommells and hilts gold.

The record does not mention a crest, however, a grant of arms to Dowde or O'Dowde of Sligo, on 14 June 1608, confirms the shield and adds the following crest: An arm embowed, habited in mail, holding in the hand a spear all proper, headed argent.

Some more O'Dowd surname history

The O'Dowds of Hy-Fiachrach were one of the leading families in north Connaught from the ninth to the sixteenth century. Originally, their territory extended over much of the present County of Sligo and into Mayo, but, later, their possessions were confined to the barony of Tireragh. According to the 'Annals of Lecan', Hugh O'Dowd styled himself King of North Connaught.

His grandson, Mulrony, who died in 1005 had the title of Lord of Hyfiachrach. The O'Dowds were a maritime power of considerable ability in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. On land they managed to hold their territory intact against the superior forces of the Burkes and Birminghams. The inaugural ceremony of each succeeding O'Dowd was presided over by a MacFirbis, the hereditary chroniclers of the clan.

The last election of an O'Dowd took place in 1595. Shortly afterwards, their power dwindled and they were eventually deprived of most of their patrimonial possessions. Daithi Og O'Dowd, who married in 1636, was the last generation of O'Dowds given by MacFirbis in his pedigree of the clan. One of the most celebrated of the chiefs of Hy-Fiachrach was Teige O'Dowd who succeeded as chief of his name in 1417. He founded the Abbey of Ardnarea and was patron of the MacFirbises whilst they were engaged in compiling the Books of Lecan.

A number of the clan have been bishops of Killala and the late John O'Dowd of Bunninadden was a worthy bearer of that ancient name. From 1900 until 1918 John O'Dowd was Nationalist Member of Parliament for Sligo and was chairman of Sligo County Council for a number of years. He was a ballad writer of note and contributed his compositions to the Sligo Champion and T.D. Sullivan's Weekly News. Gills of Dublin published a collection of his poems in 1888 under the title Lays of South Sligo.

ANOTHER DOWD MEMBER

O'Dowd : In the Battle of Ballinamuck the chains of the French Magazine were stolen by a man named Keegan. A circumstance that occurred after that Battle was the hanging of a Mayo gentleman named Captain O'Dowd, a member of this family. When on the cart (for a cart was the scaffold employed for the occasion), Duke Crofton, of Mohill Castle, a royalist, addressing O'Dowd, said: "You have brought yourself to a nice pitch. I believe you're a gentleman, and that your father keeps a pack" (of hounds). O'Dowd replied : "Yes, he keeps three packs, and his wippers-in are better gentlemen than you." Continuing, he said : "As I have to die, I shan't die like a trooper." His hands and arms were tied, yet he succeeded in removing his boots -- one foot assisting the other. "Now," he said "I am ready"! 

IN SEARCH OF ARD-NA-REE

Vain hope will it always be

Will I tread the halls

Of that mistic castle

Ard-ne-ree

To find a green eyed beauty

Of the undersea

To win her cap her cochileen

Then once again lay claim

To ard-na-ree

O'dubda lost the cap

That holds the key

Where is this redhaired woman

This green eyed beauty

She can lead me back

To ard-na-ree

Who denys my right to thee

Ard-na-ree

Will I seek in vain

That green eyed woman

Of the sea

Who's cochileen holds

The key

To that mistic castle

Ard-na-ree

A poem by: Pat O'Dowd. 1983.

 ...and don't mess with the female species of the family...

... the massacre that took place in Cloonlahard on 12 March 1580.

When Pelham in his pursuit of the earl of Desmond was encamped near Shanid castle, a man named Mac Shane approached him and said that he would lead him to the Cloonlahard woods, where over four hundred people had fled for safety.  Mac Shane, who had been a gallowglass in Desmond’s army, was a man of repellent features and revolting habits.

He fell in love with a girl named O’Dowd, who refused to have anything to do with him.  The O’Dowd’s were tenants of the Walls of Dunmoylan and lived at Balliston, a town land with an interesting history.  They also sought refuge in Cloonlahard.  When Pelham’s troops, led by Mac Shane, entered the wood they found the people clustered together, kneeling in prayer.  When the slaughter began some of the young people fled and escaped. 

One of these was Philip Geoghegan, the ancestor of Morgan whom I have already mentioned. Philip’s sister, who was married to Hugh Cummane, climbed an ivy-clad tree and escaped detection.  She witnessed the merciless slaughter of her friends and relatives, which was all over in a short time.

Only one person’s life was spared. That was the O’Dowd girl, whom Mac Shane had taken prisoner. Pelham’s troops soon vacated the woods and pushed on towards Glin.  Mac Shane returned a little later, accompanied by his prisoner, and began to search the clothes of the dead.  While doing so he laid aside his battle-axe.

As he was bending down his prisoner seized the weapon and with one swift blow she clove his skull.  She later married Dermot Dore, who also escaped from the carnage.  She became a legendary figure and many people in that locality were proud to claim descent from her.