Madam, - Working at Airfield in the years following the death of Miss Naomi gave me a precious insight into the Overend sisters' lives. After the auction of the furniture, their possessions were dumped into large cardboard boxes through which I trawled, as in an Aladdin's cave.
Nothing had ever been discarded - grocery books from Victorian times down to a Crazy Prices receipt for Miss Naomi's last purchases; letters to and from the family and inherited from friends; each Christmas, Easter and birthday card that had entered the house; account books; diaries; newspapers thrown into a press to record major occasions like the assassination of Michael Collins and the passing of kings. These items form the backbone of the Airfield archive. There were other items that did not survive: sheets turned sides to middle; much-mended aprons; scraps of paper (including minutes of meetings of St John's Ambulance brigade) cut up to act as notepads. These were precious in their own right - an indication of the frugality of the sisters' lives.
They lived at Airfield most happily without central heating or a washing machine and their economical ways added to the investment portfolios they hoped would secure the future of the estate after their deaths.
Those who knew the Overend sisters have no doubt that their intention was to save every inch of Airfield land from the developers and to gift it to the people of Dublin. The vehicle recommended by their legal advisers was the trust we know to-day.
In the 10 years since Miss Naomi's death, the trustees have sold the house's furniture, paintings and library; nearly seven acres has been lost to the Rockfield/Riversdale development; the Victorian greenhouse has been restored at great expense and is again falling down; the adjacent developer has been allowed to deposit rubble on the land and to ignore conditions of the contract for sale regarding the building of a boundary wall.
Now it is proposed that another field be sold; that new roads be built through the estate; that buildings converted to classrooms four years ago be levelled; that the car park laid only a couple of years ago be torn up and relocated - so that the eye may not be offended by the current view.
Is it any wonder the trust is said to be running at a loss (although the most recently published accounts show a surplus in excess of €800,000 for the year)? Most worryingly, the trustees have stated that there are no legal constraints on them selling the entire estate and using the proceeds to "fund education".
Paul Cullen's article (Weekend Review) is timely. Perhaps it may encourage the trustees to reflect on their plans in the light of the wishes of the Overend ladies and those in the locality to ask "what exactly is going on at Airfield?" - Yours, etc.,
ROSE MARY LOGUE, Woodley Park, Dundrum, Dublin 14.