Richard Dowling (12 December 1938 – 30 March 2024) was an Irish Fine Gael politician who served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Carlow–Kilkenny constituency from 1982 to 1987.
[1] Dowling stood unsuccessfully as a Fine Gael candidate for Dáil Éireann in the Carlow–Kilkenny constituency at the 1981 and February 1982 general elections, and after his second defeat he was elected to the 16th Seanad as a senator for the Labour Panel.
He won a Dáil seat on his third attempt at the November 1982 general election, but served only one term.
[2] In selecting candidates before the 1987 general election the local Fine Gael party preferred Phil Hogan to Dowling, and despite their later offer to add him to the ticket, he then refused to stand.
Dowling was a strong opponent of such expansion, describing the county boundary as "sacrosanct".