James Dowdall (died 20 September 1600) was a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

merchant of

Drogheda Drogheda ( , ; , meaning "bridge at the ford") is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, north of Dublin. It is located on the Dublin–Belfast corridor on the east coast of Ireland, mostly in County Louth ...

, Ireland. The

Dowdall Dowdall is an Irish surname. The earliest forms of spelling were: Dowdell, Dowdale and Dowdle. Dowdall was first used as a surname in Yorkshire, certainly by the time of the Norman conquest of England. The Irish Dowdalls came from the valley of Do ...

s of

Louth Louth may refer to: Australia *Hundred of Louth, a cadastral unit in South Australia * Louth, New South Wales, a town * Louth Bay, a bay in South Australia **Louth Bay, South Australia, a town and locality Canada * Louth, Ontario Ireland * Cou ...

originated at

Dovedale Dovedale is a valley in the Peak District of England. The land is owned by the National Trust and attracts a million visitors annually. The valley was cut by the River Dove, Central England, River Dove and runs for just over between Milldale ...

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

and became prominent in Ireland in the late Middle Ages. James Dowdall, the

Lord Chief Justice of Ireland The Court of King's Bench (or Court of Queen's Bench during the reign of a Queen) was one of the senior courts of common law in Ireland. It was a mirror of the Court of King's Bench in England. The Lord Chief Justice was the most senior judge i ...

, who died in 1584, was a cousin of Dowdall.Ball, F. Elrington ''The Judges in Ireland 1221-1921'' John Murray London 1926 Vol.1 p.210 Dovedale

In the summer of 1598, when returning from France, his ship was driven by stress of weather onto the coast of

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

shire, and he was arrested by

William Bourchier, 3rd Earl of Bath William Bourchier, 3rd Earl of Bath (29 Sep 1557 – 12 July 1623) was Lord Lieutenant of Devon. His seat was at Tawstock Court, three miles south of Barnstaple in North Devon, which he rebuilt in the Elizabethan style in 1574, the date being ...

, who had him under examination. Dowdall publicly avowed that he rejected the supremacy of

Elizabeth I of England Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is ...

, and only recognized that of the Pope. The earl forwarded the examination to

Sir Robert Cecil Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, (1 June 156324 May 1612), was an English statesman noted for his direction of the government during the Union of the Crowns, as Tudor England gave way to Stuart rule (1603). Lord Salisbury served as the ...

, and had Dowdall committed to Exeter jail. Whilst in prison he was tortured and put to the rack, but continued unchanged in his Catholicism. 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. Accordingly, he was tried at the Exeter assizes, and was ordered to be

hanged, drawn, and quartered To be hanged, drawn and quartered became a statutory penalty for men convicted of high treason in the Kingdom of England from 1352 under King Edward III (1327–1377), although similar rituals are recorded during the reign of King Henry III ( ...

. His name was included in the Apostolic Process of the

Irish Martyrs Irish Catholic Martyrs () were 24 Irish men and women who have been beatified or canonized for dying for their Catholic faith between 1537 and 1681 in Ireland. The canonisation of Oliver Plunkett in 1975 brought an awareness of the others who d ...

before the

Congregation of Sacred Rites The Sacred Congregation of Rites was a Congregation (Roman Curia), congregation of the Roman Curia, erected on 22 January 1588 by Pope Sixtus V by ''Immensa Aeterni Dei''; it had its functions reassigned by Pope Paul VI on 8 May 1969. The Congreg ...

. It stalled, apparently because of the uncertainty of identification of the James Dowdalls.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Dowdall, James People of Elizabethan Ireland 1599 deaths People from Drogheda Irish Roman Catholics People executed under Elizabeth I by hanging, drawing and quartering Year of birth unknown 16th-century Irish people Executed Irish people