[1] Gowen was a selector when the Cork minor football team won their very first All-Ireland MFC title in 1961.
[3] Gowen was also a selector with the Cork senior football team when they won the All-Ireland SFC title in 1973.
[4] Gowen began his career as administrator when he served as secretary of the St. Patrick's juvenile club from 1950 to 1961.
Gowen was elected chairman of the North Cork Divisional Board in 1960, a position he held for over 25 years.
During his tenure a successful divisional under-21 football competition was held, eventually leading to the inauguration of Munster-wide inter-county under-21 championships in both codes.