Airfield open farm continuing legacy of community nurturing
Airfield is both a working farm and a major attraction for the public in south Co. Dublin, inviting over 280,000 visitors every year.
Agriland talked to the open farm's chief executive, Claire McEvilly, about its history, the farm’s purpose, and its range of offerings to the public.
Airfield was home to the Overend family from 1894. In 1974, it was left in trust to the people of Ireland by Overend sisters, Letitia and Naomi.
Among their charitable pursuits, the Overends offered respite care to injured soldiers during two wars.
They also used their dairy herd and life-saving pasteurisation to donate to the safe milk depot to reduce infant mortality in Dublin.
In addition, they funded The Sunshine Home for children with rickets – a charity better known today as The Laura Lynn Foundation.
These days, Airfield is a fully operational farm, and is also open to the public.
According to McEvilly, their busy calendar includes school visits, corporate gatherings, seasonal events, and even weddings.
“Airfield was left to the people of Ireland by two amazing ladies,” McEvilly said.
“It was their home and they were ahead of their time in terms of farms, sustainability, and philanthropy.
“They were passionate about the farm. The farm, travel, and cars were their three interests.”
Sometimes these interests would intersect.
“They would often show their cattle at the RDS Spring Show,” McEvilly said.
“They’d be Jersey cattle on a trailer on the back of a Rolls Royce. We still have that car - it’s nearly 100-years-old.
“They never married, and in 1974 they made this amazing decision to leave everything to the people of Ireland and Airfield was set up as a trust.”
Airfield opened to the public in 1998.
A working farm
“Our big focus is on education - our purpose to get people to connect with where their food comes from,” McEvilly said.
“The farm is important now with the urban-rural divide.”
Also important to McEvilly is to clarify that it is a “working farm”.
“We are not not a petting zoo,” she clarified.
“We milk every day, collect eggs, and raise animals.”
Indeed, Airfield produces over 17,000L of milk a year, all of which goes to their own restaurant.
The farm also has over 100 laying hens, while their cattle herd produces beef in partnership with Certified Irish Angus.
Additionally, Airfield has 3ac of horticulture, with the fruit and vegetables also going to the restaurant.
Education and attractions
For many visitors to Airfield, it’s the only chance they get to see how a farm works. And the farming operation moments are the most popular.
“Much of what we do is give hands-on experience, so visitors love seeing cows being milked,” McEvilly said.
“If you’re here at the weekend - we’re milking every day - you’d be pushing people out of the way to see what’s going on.”
“That event is especially popular with children.”
Of the 280,000 visitors per year, about 10,000 are children on primary or secondary school trips.
The farm also educates at third level.
“If you study ag science or biology, you have projects, we’re a great site for students to facilitate project work,” McEvilly explained.
She highlighted that, in 2023, Airfield gained recognition as a research institute from the Department of Education.
“We can go for research grants, [examining] ‘Is there an opportunity for open farms to do research about consumer behaviour, consumer interest, bridging rural urban divide?’”
“How can we use open farms to showcase new tech?
“There’s amazing innovation happening in Ireland, so how can we bring that to the public? Open farms are well placed to do that," McEvilly said.
Airfield also has demonstrations in “butter making, sheepdogs trials, and a cookery school”.
“Talking to farmers and gardeners is why a lot of people come here,” said McEvilly.
“For us, as an open farm in a city, it’s still the simple things people love – milking, butter making, bat walks. That’s what’s nice about open farms.”
Community garden
Airfield has been a focal part of its community for many years, so it makes sense that the farm has a community garden.
“A couple of years ago we were approached by a software company named Toast,” said McEvilly.
“They’re involved in community gardens in the US. We’ve always wanted to do it, so we opened a year and a half ago."
She explained that while Airfield got it going, they "then handed it over to a group of local volunteers, people in direct provisions, retired, people with autism".
“They run it, they have a committee, and they look for [additional] volunteers," McEvilly said.
“For us, it’s a chance for the community to engage and to help people learn. It’s a collaboration between volunteers and us.”
Christmas at Airfield
As usual at this time of year, Airfield welcomes a special guest.
“We have Santa on the estate,” McEvilly said.
“It’s nice to bring people here at a quiet time from a commercial point of view, but also to remind them that we’re here.
“We also do lovely [seasonal] classes in the cookery school, and wreath-making.
"Christmastime is focused on Santa and the visitors," she added.
Advice for open farms
McEvilly has two key words for anyone planning to make their farm public: “Start small...”
“You don’t have to go fancy - it’s about the chance to see things hands-on. That’s what people want,” she said.
“I know they want an Instagram photo, but it’s really about what we can do in a simple way to connect people with farms and farming.
“It’s the personality and storytelling. It’s the people they meet and the stories they hear."
McEvilly also spoke about the opportunities she gets to respond to feedback from visitors.
“Also, I think, from our side, sometimes we get feedback that ‘nothing ever changes’.
"And I say: ‘It’s nature, it changes every day'," she said.
