Airfield Estate

Summary

Airfield is not just a beautiful place with a remarkable history, it’s a social and charitable hub, investing in people and initiatives that reach every corner of our community. It really is the gift that keeps on giving.

Home to the Overend family since 1894, Airfield was left in trust to the people of Ireland by Letitia and Naomi Overend in 1974, trailblazing sisters who understood the importance of being self-sufficient and sustainable – and not just with food. These ladies rolled up their sleeves to take on everything from farming and cattle trading to car maintenance.

As local figures, they turned heads around Dublin, owning three cars at one stage (unheard of at that time). One of the cars happened to be a Rolls Royce, an investment they would only agree to if it came with a tow bar for transporting their Jersey cows, and a course on car maintenance so that the sisters could keep the car on the road for as long as they needed it.

It was, however, their sense of community and a lifetime of charitable endeavours that the Overends are remembered for most. Tuned in to the social challenges of their time, they opened their hearts and home to some of Ireland’s most vulnerable, offering respite care to injured soldiers during two great wars, using their dairy herd and life-saving pasteurisation to donate to the safe milk depot, single-handily reducing infant mortality in Dublin, and funding The Sunshine Home for children with rickets – a charity better known today as The Laura Lynn Foundation.    

It’s acts like these and a million more since that have given Airfield its sense of purpose: a place where clean air, natural beauty, healthy food and a sustainable lifestyle can make a real difference in people’s everyday lives and inspire lasting change.