Eamonn Deacy Park

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. It is owned by the Galway Football Association 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, 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 purchased the grounds for £250 from Eamonn Deacy's grandfather. When Galway Rovers made their League of Ireland 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 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 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