He is the eldest son of Anthony McDowell, a barrister and civil servant, and Eilis MacNeill (daughter of the leader of the Irish Volunteers, Eoin MacNeill).
His younger brother is the politician Senator Michael McDowell.
[1] Moore McDowell studied at University College Dublin (UCD), and was awarded a Research Fellowship from the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) to study at Worcester College, Oxford, from 1967 to 1969.
[citation needed] At UCD like his younger brother, he was a member of Young Fine Gael, the party of their grandfather.
[citation needed] McDowell was one of the economists along with Sean Barrett and Colm McCarthy, nicknamed the 'Doheny & Nesbitt School of Economics', who were closely identified with the early policies of the Progressive Democrats.