James Dowdall

James Dowdall (died 20 September 1600) was a Roman Catholic merchant of Drogheda, Ireland.

[1] The Dowdalls of Louth originated at Dovedale in Derbyshire and became prominent in Ireland in the late Middle Ages.

[3] In the summer of 1598, when returning from France, his ship was driven by stress of weather onto the coast of Devonshire, and he was arrested by William Bourchier, 3rd Earl of Bath, who had him under examination.

[4] The earl forwarded the examination to Sir Robert Cecil, and had Dowdall committed to Exeter jail.

On 18 June 1599, the Earl of Bath wrote to Sir Robert Cecil for instructions in regard to James Dowdall, who had been detained in prison for almost a year.