INNOVATING
Changing Houses
Stately Homes
WORDS BY Ta ra C o rri st i n e
I r e l a n d ’s grand houses are pivoting for a new audience.
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A I R F I E L D E S TAT E COUNTY DUBLIN Home to the Overend family since 1894, Airfield Estate 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 women took 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 those was 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 it 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 home to some of Ireland’s most
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