Bearers of the O’Dowd name can proudly look to Ireland for their ancient roots and a descent from one of the island's greatest warrior kings.
• Defending hearth and home from invaders, they were involved in several of the island's bloodiest battles, while in later centuries many forged new lives for themselves through a diverse variety of pursuits.
• Born in 1969 in South Africa, Cathy O’Dowd is the climber and mountaineer who is the first woman to have reached the summit of Mount Everest from the forbidding peak’s north and south sides – reaching the summit from the south side in 1996 and the north side in 1999.
