Eamonn Deacy Park, formerly known as Terryland Park, is an
association football stadium in the Republic of Ireland based in the Terryland district of
Galway
Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a city in the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay, and is the sixth most populous city on ...
. It is owned by the
Galway Football Association
The Galway Football Association is the governing body for association football in County Galway. It is responsible for organizing and managing the Galway & District League, Eamonn Deacy Park, and Galway W.F.C.
Affiliated leagues
* Galway & Di ...
and is the home ground of both
Galway United and
Galway W.F.C. It is named after
Eamonn Deacy, a former Galway United and
Aston Villa player and
Republic of Ireland international. In both
2007 and
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
, the ground was voted the best surface by the
FAI. It won the same award again in
2015.
History
Early years
One of the earliest games played at Terryland Park was on 3 February 1935. It was a 1934–35
FAI Junior Cup game between
Athlone Town and a team referred to as the Galway Macks. Athlone Town won 8–2 and went on to win the cup. In 1950 the
Galway Football Association
The Galway Football Association is the governing body for association football in County Galway. It is responsible for organizing and managing the Galway & District League, Eamonn Deacy Park, and Galway W.F.C.
Affiliated leagues
* Galway & Di ...
purchased the grounds for £250 from
Eamonn Deacy's grandfather.
[Different sources name Eamonn Deacy's grandfather as either Martin Joseph Morris or Dean Flynn] When
Galway Rovers made their
League of Ireland
The League of Ireland ( ga, Sraith na hÉireann), together with the Football Association of Ireland, is one of the two main governing bodies responsible for organising association football in the Republic of Ireland. The term was originally use ...
debut in
1977–78, Terryland Park became their home ground. They played their first League of Ireland game at the venue on 28 August 1977 against
St Patrick's Athletic.
Redevelopment
The stadium underwent redevelopment in 1993. This saw the introduction of floodlights and saw evening matches at the ground. In 2007 a €500,000
Irish Government
The Government of Ireland ( ga, Rialtas na hÉireann) is the cabinet that exercises executive authority in Ireland.
The Constitution of Ireland vests executive authority in a government which is headed by the , the head of government. The gover ...
grant went towards developing a new 1,500-seater stand. The new stand was opened in July 2007 and raised the seating capacity to 3,300 and the overall capacity to 5,000. Development of the interior of the Main Stand continued as new dressing rooms, medical rooms, showers, officials' dressing rooms, media facilities and other amenities were all upgraded and installed.
Tenants
Although perhaps best known as the home of
Galway United, the stadium also serves as the headquarters of both the
Galway Football Association
The Galway Football Association is the governing body for association football in County Galway. It is responsible for organizing and managing the Galway & District League, Eamonn Deacy Park, and Galway W.F.C.
Affiliated leagues
* Galway & Di ...
and
Galway & District League. It regularly hosts an average of one hundred games per year.
It has also served as a home for both
Mervue United and
Salthill Devon. During the
2009 and
2010 seasons when they were playing in the
League of Ireland First Division
The League of Ireland First Division ( ga, Céad Roinn Sraith na hÉireann), also known as the SSE Airtricity League First Division, is the second level division in both the League of Ireland and the Republic of Ireland football league system. Th ...
, Mervue played at Terryland Park as their regular ground, Fahy's Field, did not meet
League of Ireland
The League of Ireland ( ga, Sraith na hÉireann), together with the Football Association of Ireland, is one of the two main governing bodies responsible for organising association football in the Republic of Ireland. The term was originally use ...
standards.
Following the withdrawal of Galway United from the League of Ireland after the
2011 season, Salthill Devon re-branded themselves as SD Galway for the
2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...
season. They adopted the maroon and white worn by Galway United and switched their home matches from
Drom Soccer Park
Drom Soccer Park is an association football venue in the Republic of Ireland based in Drom East, Rahoon, County Galway. It is the home ground of Salthill Devon F.C. It was built in 2002 and has a capacity of 2,000. Drom also hosts the Galway C ...
to Terryland Park. In June 2013 the
FAI announced
Galway W.F.C. as an
expansion team for the upcoming
2013–14 Women's National League season and they also began to play at the now renamed Eamonn Deacy Park.
In addition the stadium has also hosted various
Republic of Ireland under-17,
under-19 and
under-21 internationals.
Cup finals
Eamonn Deacy Park has hosted finals of the
League of Ireland First Division Shield, the
FAI Intermediate Cup
The FAI Intermediate Cup ( ga, Corn Comortais Peile na hÉireann), also known as the FAI Umbro Intermediate Cup and the Pat O'Brien Intermediate Challenge Cup, is a cup competition organized by the Football Association of Ireland for intermediate ...
, the
Connacht Junior Cup, the
Michael Byrne Cup
The Michael Byrne Cup is an association football cup competition featuring teams from the Galway & District League. It is now the main league cup competition for this league. However when it was originally inaugurated in 1976–77, it was a pla ...
and the
Collingwood Cup. The stadium has also hosted two
League of Ireland Cup
The League of Ireland Cup ( ga, Corn Sraithe na hÉireann), also referred to in Ireland as the 'League Cup', is an annual knockout competition in men's football in the Republic of Ireland. It is contested by League of Ireland clubs and invited c ...
finals. In 1996–97, it hosted the first leg of the final as
Galway United defeated
Cork City
Cork ( , from , meaning 'marsh') is the second largest city in Ireland and third largest city by population on the island of Ireland. It is located in the south-west of Ireland, in the province of Munster. Following an extension to the city's ...
3–1, en route to a 4–2 aggregate win overall. More recently it hosted the
2015 final between Galway United and
St Patrick's Athletic. This time Galway United would lose out on penalties.
Renamed
In 2012, following the death of
Eamonn Deacy, the
Galway Football Association
The Galway Football Association is the governing body for association football in County Galway. It is responsible for organizing and managing the Galway & District League, Eamonn Deacy Park, and Galway W.F.C.
Affiliated leagues
* Galway & Di ...
renamed Terryland Park in his honour. The renaming ceremony took place in August 2012 and featured a testimonial match between
Galway United and
Aston Villa legends teams. The stadium was formally renamed by
Michael Ring
Michael Ring (born 24 December 1953) is an Irish Fine Gael politician who has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Mayo constituency since 1997, and previously from 1994 to 1997 for the Mayo West constituency. He served as Minister for Rural and ...
, the
Minister of State for Tourism and Sport. Other special guests included three former
Republic of Ireland
Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...
internationals –
Packie Bonner
Patrick Joseph Bonner (born 24 May 1960) is an Irish retired footballer who played as a goalkeeper and spent his entire career at Celtic. He earned a total of 80 caps for the Republic of Ireland national football team after making his debut on h ...
,
Paul McGrath and
Gareth Farrelly
Gareth Farrelly (born 28 August 1975) is an Irish football manager and former professional footballer.
He played as a midfielder notably in the Premier League for Aston Villa, Bolton Wanderers and Everton. He also played in the Football Leagu ...
.
Notes
References
{{Galway
Buildings and structures in Galway (city)
Association football venues in the Republic of Ireland
Galway & District League
Multi-purpose stadiums in the Republic of Ireland
Sports venues in County Galway
Galway United F.C.
Galway W.F.C.
Association football in Galway (city)