Dowdall, Jane (‘Jennie’) (1899–1974), philanthropist and politician, was born Jane Doggett at 28 Smithfield, Dublin, on 29 September 1899, the daughter of Michael Doggett , eating-house keeper, and Mary Ellen Doggett (née Andrews). After her schooling she worked as a nurse at St Vincent's Hospital, Dublin, and was an active member of the Gaelic League. In October 1929 she married Senator James C. Dowdall (qv) and moved to Cork. Éamon de Valera (qv), a close friend, was godfather to their son Finbarr.
Following the death of her husband in 1939 Jane Dowdall (who was always known as Jennie) became active in many local bodies, including the Society of St Vincent de Paul, the Irish Country Women's Association, and the Penny Dinners. Her first public appointment was to the management committee of Cork's South Infirmary (1945), of which she became a trustee. She later became a member of the Cork health authority and the Cork hospitals' committee, and was a founder member of the Women's Industrial Development Association. A member of Fianna Fáil, in 1950 she was the first woman elected to Cork corporation, and in August 1951 she was elected to the seanad on the industrial and commercial panel. In the seanad chamber she largely kept her own counsel, though she expressed her support for the ban that prevented married women from working in the civil service. Her entry into national politics saw her voluntary work also take on a national dimension. She became a director of St Luke's Hospital, Dublin, a government nominee on the central council of the Irish Red Cross Society, a nominated director of the Cancer Association of Ireland, the first treasurer of the Fresh Air Fund, and an executive member of the Irish tourist board.
On 24 June 1959 Dowdall became the first female mayor of Cork. During her term of office she persuaded the government to grant aid to the Cork opera house fund and was instrumental in having a private member's bill passed, which empowered Cork corporation likewise to render financial assistance to the opera house. A great supporter of the arts and cultural activities, she was a co-founder and patron of the Irish Theatre Ballet Company (1959, the first professional ballet company in Ireland), a patron of the Cork Ballet Company for five years, and president of the Cork Orchestral Society. She was also a member of the Cork Tóstal Council and the Cork city vocational education committee, where she championed the School of Music and the School of Art. In 1960 she was the guest of Mayor Wagner in New York, and took the salute at the St Patrick's day parade alongside Governor Rockefeller. Defeated in the seanad elections of 1961, Dowdall became one of the first women to serve on the council of state (1964–74).
She lived at Carrigduv, Blackrock, Cork, and retired to Glanmire, Co. Cork, later moving to the Mill House, Kilcully, Co. Cork. She died 10 December 1974 at Cork, leaving estate valued at £76,760.