Thanks but I pretty much had all that 
My real interest is in ancestors of Smith McDowell. I'm getting a lot of DNA matches onto the Ephraim McDowell line in the US and I'm trying to establish the link line from Smith McDowall to that line, possibly 3-4 generations.
Thanks again.
You said that you were looking for “any information on a Smith McDowell” and then it emerges you “had all that” and are actually looking for his parents and earlier generations. That’s not really very helpful to those trying to assist you. You say: “It’s likely the family lived in Connor or Kells.” The 1848 marriage certificate which Aghadowey mentioned should tell you where they lived. Presumably you have that. So there should be no mystery over where they lived.
You say Smith was an army pensioner. Have you searched for his military records?
You don’t say what Smith’s denomination was. If he was Church of Ireland then there are no records in Connor earlier than 1871 for baptisms and 1845 for marriages. If he was Presbyterian, then Connor baptisms start in 1819, marriages in 1845. Consequently getting back earlier than 1800 for Smith seems unlikely from church records. You may need to rely on other sources, eg any leases, wills or other documents in PRONI, or perhaps his military records.
There are a couple of McDowell gravestones in St Saviours, Kells but you’ll need to decide whether they may relate to your family. Connor New Cemetery in Kells only opened around the late 1800s and prior to that many Presbyterians were buried in St Saviours. But obviously some families may have had other plots elsewhere. There are no rules about where you bury someone. And few burial records too, so it’s difficult.
http://thebraid.com/genealogy.aspx
