College Dowling first came to prominence as a hurler with
Ardscoil Rís in
Limerick. Having played in every grade as a hurler, he was centre-forward on the college's senior hurling team. On 11 March 2010, Dowling scored a point from play when Ardscoil Rís defeated Thurles CBS in the final of the
Harty Cup. On 27 February 2011, Dowling was again at centre-forward when Ardscoil Rís retained the Harty Cup title after a 3-19 to 0-03 defeat of
C.B.S. Charleville in the final.
Club Dowling joined the
Na Piarsaigh club at a young age and played in all grades at juvenile and underage levels, enjoying championship success in the under-16, minor and under-21 grades. On 2 October 2011, Dowling scored 1-10 from right corner-forward in Na Piarsaigh's 2-18 to 0-13 defeat of
Adare to win their first
Limerick Championship. He later won a
Munster Championship medal following a 1-13 to 0-09 defeat of
Crusheen in the final. After surrendering their titles the following year, Dowling won a second Limerick Championship medal at midfield when Na Piarsaigh defeated
Adare by 0-14 to 0-12 on 6 October 2013. He was switched to full-forward for the subsequent Munster Championship, which culminated with him winning a second provincial medal after a 4-14 to 0-08 defeat of
Sixmilebridge in the final. Dowling won a third Limerick Championship medal on 11 October 2015 after a 1-22 to 4-12 defeat of
Patrickswell in the final. Later that season he won a third Munster medal after scoring 1-04 in a 2-18 to 2-11 defeat of
Ballygunner. On 17 March 2016, Dowling won an
All-Ireland medal when Na Piarsaigh defeated
Ruairí Óg by 2-25 to 2-14 in the final. On 15 October 2017, Dowling won a fourth Limerick Championship medal when Na Piarsaigh defeated
Kilmallock by 1-22 to 2-14 in the final. He was substituted in the 43rd minute after picking up an injury. Scans initially showed cartilage damage, but during surgery a fracture was also discovered inside his knee which ended his participation in the Munster Championship. Dowling's participation in the All-Ireland series was also in doubt, however, he was introduced as a substitute in the All-Ireland semi-final against
Slaughtneil and set up a goal for
Kevin Downes before scoring his own goal. On 17 March 2018, he was at midfield when Na Piarsaigh were defeated by
Cuala in the All-Ireland final. On 27 October 2018, Dowling won a fifth Limerick Championship medal after scoring 0-12 in Na Piarsaigh's 2-22 to 3-10 defeat of
Doon. He coaches the under 14’ at his club and has brought them to win one county championships in under 13 and feile in under 14
Inter-county Minor and under-21 Dowling first played for Limerick at minor level as a sixteen-year-old. He made his first appearance for the team on 29 April 2009, replacing
John Fitzgibbon at half-time in a 1-21 to 0-11 defeat by
Tipperary. He was eligible for the minor grade for the following two seasons, however, Limerick faced respective defeats by
Clare and Waterford. In his final year on the minor team, Dowling was drafted onto the Limerick under-21 team. On 3 August 2011, he scored seven points, including six frees, when Limerick defeated
Cork by 4-20 to 1-27 in the
final of the
Munster Championship. Dowling was appointed captain of the Limerick under-21 hurling team during his fourth and final season on the team in 2014.
Senior Dowling made his senior debut for Limerick on 25 February 2012 in a 2-24 to 1-13
National Hurling League defeat by Clare. Later that season he made his first
Munster Championship appearance in a 2-20 to 1-19 defeat by Tipperary. On 30 June 2012, Dowling scored 3-09 in an
All-Ireland Qualifier defeat of
Antrim. It was the highest personal tally for any player in that year's championship. After playing a number of games for Limerick after returning from club duty during the
2013 National League, Dowling was surprisingly dropped from the starting fifteen by team manager
John Allen for the team's opening championship game against Tipperary. Recalling being left on the bench, he later said: "I took that very hard at the time. Growing up I was never a sub on any team I had ever played for so, at the time, John Allen was the demon, the big bad wolf. I genuinely thought my inter-county career was over. I was devastated." Dowling was introduced as a 49th-minute substitute for
Séamus Hickey and scored two points in a three-point victory. On 14 July 2013, he scored three points from play after being introduced as a substitute in Limerick's 0-24 to 0-15 defeat of
Cork in the
Munster final. Dowling returned to the Limerick starting fifteen under new joint-managers
Dónal O'Grady and
T. J. Ryan in
2014. After scoring 2-09 in Limerick's Munster Championship defeat of Tipperary on 1 June 2014, he later revealed how he had been the subject of an abusive text message: "Last week, the chairman of the club showed me a text message from a journalist in Limerick. I’ve no problem with someone voicing their opinion. That particular person personally abused me in that text message. I don’t say that lightly. Thank God, that we answered that today." On 24 October 2014, Dowling was named on the
All-Star Team. On 10 June 2018, Dowling's tally of 0-15 in a Munster Championship game allowed him to replace
Gary Kirby as Limerick's all-time top championship scorer. On 19 August 2018, Dowling scored a goal after coming on as a substitute when Limerick won their first
All-Ireland title in 45 years after a 3-16 to 2-18 defeat of
Galway in the
final. On 31 March 2019, Dowling started Limerick's
National League final meeting with
Waterford on the bench. He was introduced as a 64th-minute substitute for
Tom Morrissey and collected a winners' medal following the 1-24 to 0-19 victory. On 30 June 2019, Dowling won his first Munster Championship medal in six years after coming on as a 66th-minute substitute for
Gearóid Hegarty in Limerick's 2-26 to 2-14 defeat of
Tipperary in the
final. On 2 July 2020, Dowling announced his retirement from inter-county hurling due to degenerative knee and cartilage issues. In November 2024, it was announced that Dowling would come out of retirement to be part of the Limerick senior hurling panel as a goalkeeper after playing the last two years in goal for his club.
Inter-provincial Dowling was selected for the
Munster inter-provincial team for the first time on 17 February 2013. He later won a
Railway Cup medal following a 1-22 to 0-15 defeat of
Connacht in the final. Dowling was also selected for the Munster team in 2016. ==Career statistics==