Pat Dowd is the daughter of the late Tom and Millie Dowd and the oldest in her family of five siblings: Judy Wade, Kathy Dowd, Ginny Gaskill, Maureen Dowd, and Joe Dowd. She attended St. Agnes and St. Aloysius grade schools in Cleveland, Ursuline Academy of the Sacred Heart, St. John College of Cleveland, and John Carroll University. Pat’s Irish heritage, inherited from both her mother and her father, traces back to County Mayo, Ireland.
Patricia Dowd is well known throughout the Irish American community for promoting the culture and her ongoing support for, and participation in, numerous functions and activities. She studied elementary education while at St. John College and eventually taught at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel School in Wickliffe. She next moved on to a career in business at Snider Blake and later expanded her skills and career as a personnel and purchasing manager for 27 years. Pat’s love of her Irish heritage took her into a new career as she became the founder and owner of Irish Moments, an Irish ceramic and porcelain gift-ware business. Many have received her gifts or seen her creations at craft fairs, Irish festivals, specialty shops and the East Side and West Side Irish American Clubs.
Pat is a charter member of the Irish American Club East Side. She has served as an officer for many years and served on numerous committees. She is also a member of the West Side Irish American Club. She was president of the Padraic Pearse Center which is the cultural arm of the Irish American Club East Side. The center’s purpose is to promote Irish heritage and culture through such activities as its library, Irish dance and Gaelic language lessons, various lectures, theatrical productions and educational programs.
Pat was also a member of the Famine Memorial Committee. The Irish Famine Memorial monument, and surrounding area on the East bank of the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland’s Flats, is a memorial to the Great Hunger, the famine of the 1840’s.
Her work promoting Irish culture has been recognized by many. She was honored as the 2002 St. Patrick’s Day Parade co-chair and the East Side Club’s “Member of the Year”.
She was honored by the Irish American Archives Society who summarized: “Whatever needs to be done, Pat is there to lend a hand and loves to be involved. She is proud of her Irish heritage and does whatever she can to promote it and keep it alive.”
Pat was inducted by Gerry Quinn.
Watch the video (below) of Gerry Quinn inducting Pat Dowd and then Pat’s acceptance speech.
