James Dowling
Born: 21 September 1793
Died: 16 May 1883
Son of Laurence Dowling and Elenor Kavanagh
Brother of William and Anne
Married to Eliza Keane
Children: Mary Anne, William, Laurence, Eliza, James, Robert.
FACTS
Willie tells us that James worked at the Customs House ("Pensioned off at 60 I believe and drew it for 30 yrs"). Dervla calls him a senior civil servant at Dublin Castle. Kathleen thinks he was an engineer with Dublin Corporation. Pettigrew's Almanac of 1841 has him clearly listed though - "First Clerk, Revenue of Customs, Port of Dublin - James Dowling Esq." - and he is mentioned twice in the testimonials of his son Robert, as "an Officer, H. M. Customs, where he passed an unblemished business life of long duration" and in "His father, now on the Superannuation List, held an appointment in the Customs' Service for a long period, and from the character he bore both while in office and since his retirement, I have no hesitation in recommending the son as one in whom the utmost confidence may be placed."
He lived at 43 Synge Street, just ten doors away from where George Bernard Shaw was born in 1856. They would have been neighbours for ten years. I don't know when James moved there, but Thom's Directory of 1890 has him there still seven years after his death. It also shows his "great friends" Mrs Ennis at 8 Grosvenor Road (see Willie's letter). Pettigrew above shows R. Ennis, sol. 24 Essex Quay in 1841. Perhaps he too had died by 1890.
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