Madam, - On my occasional walks past the gates of The Grove in Donnybrook, I've wondered how such a green oasis came to be there, captured in time.
Hugh Oram's Irishman's Diary last Friday was a revelation. The story of Kathleen Goodfellow and her wish to have The Grove preserved brings to mind her contemporaries Misses Letitia and Naomi Overend, unmarried ladies also associated with Alexandra College.
They were less successful in having their beloved Airfield preserved from development and compulsory purchase - the original 50 acres of the estate is now sadly reduced to 37 with the balance under concrete. And there are proposals in hand for a road that will open up the southern part of the farm, removing the hedgerow that is one of the last wildlife corridors on the estate and leaving it vulnerable to more building development.
I hope that many lovers of Airfield will write to Dun Laoghaire Rathdown Co Council before May 6th to ask them to reverse their plans. In the light of what has been possible at The Grove, it appears that even in this development-mad age, there are ways in which the wishes of the dead may be respected. - Yours, etc,
ROSE MARY LOGUE, Save Airfield Campaign, Woodley Park, Dublin 14.