Robert Brendan McDowell MRIA[1] (14 September 1913 – 29 August 2011)[2][3] was an Irish historian.
McDowell was educated at the Royal Belfast Academical Institution, where he discovered his love of history.
He completed his graduate work at Trinity, having been elected a Scholar in Modern History and Political Science in 1936.
McDowell's published work concentrated on the era when Britain and Ireland shared a government, and aspects of the Irish-British relationship.
As well as his scholarship, McDowell became celebrated for his eccentric dress, his Ulster diction and his ability to talk knowledgeably at great length.