This biography is republished from The Dictionary of Irish Biography and was written by Cathy Hayes. Shared by permission in line with Creative Commons ‘Attribution’ (CC BY) licencing.
Born: 19 August 1900, Ireland
Died: 24 October 1993
Country most active: Ireland
Also known as: NA
Born 19 August 1900 at Airfield House, Naomi was twenty years younger than Letitia; like her sister, she was encouraged by their parents to live an independent life, though the two remained close despite the difference in their ages. At first educated at home by a governess, Naomi then went to Alexandra College, Dublin. She had a gentle nature and at the age of eight, she organised a fete in aid of the Children’s League of Pity, the junior division of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. She shared an interest with her sister in motor cars: her mother presented her with a 1936 Austin Tickford, which was well known around Dundrum and Dublin. Naomi took an active interest in the herd of Jersey cattle reared at Airfield, which she maintained until her death. The cattle were regular winners at the annual spring show held by the RDS and they were famously named after characters in Gilbert and Sullivan operas. Keeping the 40-acre family estate intact was of the utmost importance to both women and they set up the Dromartin Trust in the 1970s to this end. Naomi died at Airfield 24 October 1993, aged ninety-three. Neither Letitia nor Naomi married. The Dromartin or ‘Airfield’ Trust continued to promote environmental and arts education through a variety of programmes at Airfield House and gardens, Dundrum, Co. Dublin. In recognition of the contribution of the Overend sisters to the Dundrum area, in 2006 Dún Laoghaire Rathdown Co. Council renamed Wyckham Way as Overend Way.