Marion Dowd is a Lecturer in Prehistoric Archaeology at the School of Science, I.T. Sligo since 2005. Prior to this she was a part-time lecturer in the Department of Archaeology at UCC, and she worked for several years with Eachtra Archaeological Projects in Kerry and Cork.

Marion's research focuses on the multiple ways in which caves were adapted, utilised and perceived over the entire duration of human occupation of Ireland, from the Early Mesolithic through to the present day. She is interested in how these dark silent underground landscapes affected people, and the types of activities they attracted. While concerned primarily with the archaeological evidence, she believes in a multi-disciplinary approach and draws on folklore, history, early literary sources and ethnography to provide a more holistic and nuanced understanding of caves.

Her MA (UCC, 1997) and PhD (UCC, 2004) involved the first indepth archaeological analysis of Ireland's caves. Since then she has published and lectured widely on the subject, most notably her book 'The Archaeology of Caves in Ireland' published by Oxbow Books in 2015. It won the Tratman Award in 2015 and the Current Archaeology 'Book of the Year 2016' award. Edited books include 'The Archaeology of Darkness', co-edited with Robert Hensey (Oxbow Books, 2016) and 'Underground Archaeology: Studies on Human Bones and Artefacts from Ireland's Caves' (Oxbow Books, 2016). 

She has over 20 years excavation experience on sites from all archaeological periods, and has been a licensed archaeologist since 2001. She has directed excavations in Glencurran Cave and Moneen Cave ¿ both in the Burren, Co. Clare ¿ sites with Bronze Age ritual activities as well as medieval horizons. "Archaeological excavations in Moneen Cave, the Burren, Co. Clare: insights into Bronze Age and post-medieval life in the west of Ireland" (Archaeopress, 2016) is her first excavation monograph, and she has published numerous excavations as journal papers. Other sites she directed include Dunmore Cave, Co. Kilkenny (early medieval human remains) and Knocknarea Cave K, Co. Sligo (Neolithic excarnation site). 

During her career she has received funding to pursue research on Irish caves from the Irish Research Council; the Royal Irish Academy; the National Monuments Service; the Heritage Council; and IT Sligo.

She is a full member of the Institute of Archaeologists of Ireland (IAI), the Speleological Union of Ireland (SUI), and the Irish Quaternary Association (IQUA)