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I am not sure if anyone is on this forum anymore. Just wanted to post an update:
I have traced my Dowdle family to Westport also have a DNA match with descendant of Sarah Dunbar and Henry Dowdle. So that is my family. They went to Govan in Scotland first. Even though I have not found the baptism of my Patrick Dowdle (c 1849) I have him in the house of his parents (Sarah and Patrick Dowdle, in Govan) at the time of his wife's death (Scottish records are so good). Unfortunately she died in the poorhouse there. That is why he left his children there (actually found he had 3 children not 2) after his wife died. His parents were there, his sister was there and his cousins were there.
Anyway this family does not seem to be directly connected to all those people in Manchester who were Dowdles. It does not mean they were definitely NOT related but I have no DNA matches that seem to match. Also why would Henry and Sarah not go to Manchester if they had other children there and Henry had a brother there? It doesn't make a lot of sense.
There is another Dowdle family in the area of Westport that I have come across. You need to look in the Irish Loan and Sustainability fund books (Ancestry has links). I think this is your family. It even mentions a hatter if I remember correctly. There are three entries with Henry Dowdle named. he seems to be from Castlebar. I would definitely recommend doing further research into him. You can even find his death certificate there. I think he is a more likely candidate for your Henry Dowdle.
I definitely recommend doing a DNA test through Ancestry - or you could take part in a one name study using Dowdle Y DNA if you have Dowdle males in the family. I am sure I could get one of my cousins to take part.
I will probably not check into this site again as I am inundated with other Irish lines I am searching. Best of luck with your search.
Cath
My tree on Ancestry is called Payne Family Tree (Catherine Mannion) but my name on there is Catherine Payne - you may be able to find me. My tree is private but if you find a DNA match you'll be able to contact me.

I was looking for a different Henry Dowdle on Ancestry and found a link to a Henry Dowdle from Westport. He was applying for a loan in 1846. His loan security was John Dowdle. It was from the Ireland sustainability loan fund. He borrowed One pound and ten shillings.
Cath

Jim:
I will let you know when I get my results. Did you and Nancy renew your vows in the same church that your ancestors did? That is lovely.
Just looking at your info again. Your Patrick H Dowdle married in 1850. My grt, grt grandfather Patrick  Dowdle (son of Henry Dowdle) was born c 1849 -  so he was born just as your ancestor was getting married. I wonder if this is likely to mean they are more likely uncle and nephew or cousins.
pbuxton: did your family originate in Westport (Aughaval), Co. Mayo? I would be interested to know more.
For all Dowdle descendants on here - I have a tree on Ancestry. It is private but if I receive a request (stating what they are looking for) I will make my tree available. You have to register with Ancestry to do this.
Good ancestor hunting.
Cath

Family concerns (and holidays) kept me away from continuing my reply from earlier in the year. Re Henry Dowdle who was in prison on the 1911 census. I researched this further through the British newspaper archives. There was some sort of special deal on with the subscription so I did a search of newspaper articles for the UK. It seems that Henry Dowdle was in prison for the murder of his wife Ann. The murder took place in Barry Island, Wales, where the couple were living. It seems they moved around a lot. I know for a fact that they lived in: Glasgow, Hartlepool, Jarrow and eventually Barry Island. Neighbours reported the couple as being unhappily married and reported frequent quarrels. He was a heavy drinker/drunk.
Horrible story yet it is the one that made the connection to Westport for me. The news story was reported in various newspapers all over the country e.g. Dundee Courier, Manchester Courier in March 1906 - if you want to trace it. I have not managed to find any descendants of this family although they had several children including a son Peter. There was a Peter Dowdle in the navy during WW 1 and I wondered if it was their son Peter.
 I would love to get a family tree of all the descendants of this Dowdle family from Westport. Mention is made of some of them arriving in the Manchester area. they also lived in Glasgow, Hartlepool, Sunderland and other places. These men worked in the ship building industry - as unskilled labour.
I have about 23 first cousins on my Dowdle side from my grandfather Henry Dowdle.  he had seven siblings so quite a few descendants there although I believe they are mostly scattered across England and Scotland. I'm from England but now live in Canada and I have made contact with a cousin of my mum's who lives in Australia. I don't know if we are allowed to connect other than on this site. I do have a gmail email address. the first part is my first name with the addition of the letters mp and the number 16. So - if you email - just put Dowdle in the message - so I don't delete it. Would love to get a more extensive family tree of this family. Not sure why some of them are not on the baptismal records from the parish. Perhaps the older siblings were born elsewhere - especially if their father ended up having two wives which has been suggested. I think I will peruse the records again now that the National Library of Ireland has put all their catholic records online. They are not easy to search as the writing is often almost illegible and there are gaps and some entries so faded you can't read them.
Happy ancestor hunting...
Catherine
PS - just looking again at your info on the family with Catherine, William, Henry and Sarah. Do you think it could have been like this:
Catherine born 1836/1840
William born 1845
Patrick (my ancestor) born c 1849
Henry born 1851
Sarah born 1853

It's always possible that my Patrick Dowdle was a cousin and not a sibling He was certainly connected to Henry Dowdle (1851) from Westport> Think I'll try to go through the records from Westport this winter (don't usually spend much time on genealogy in the summer) and make note of every Dowdle and their connections. Maybe I'll be able to post it somewhere.