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The Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium ( ga, Tobar an Fhíoruisce ) is a
municipal A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...
stadium with an adjoining
greyhound racing Greyhound racing is an organized, competitive sport in which greyhounds are raced around a track. There are two forms of greyhound racing, track racing (normally around an oval track) and coursing; the latter is now banned in most countries. Tr ...
track in
Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...
,
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...
. It is the home ground of
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 ...
team Derry City F.C. and (temporarily)
NIFL Premiership The NIFL Premiership, known as the Danske Bank Premiership for sponsorship purposes, and colloquially as the Irish League or Irish Premiership, is a professional association football league which operates as the highest division of the North ...
team
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The football team play on Friday evenings usually at 7.45pm; the greyhound racing takes place on Monday evenings and occasionally on Thursday evenings. Until September 2018, the stadium was known as the Brandywell Stadium before it was renamed to honour
Ryan McBride Ryan may refer to: People and fictional characters * Ryan (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) *Ryan (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) Places Australia * Division of Ryan, an electo ...
.


Football


Location, features and history

The stadium is situated on the Lone Moor Road just south-west of the
Bogside The Bogside is a neighbourhood outside the city walls of Derry, Northern Ireland. The large gable-wall murals by the Bogside Artists, Free Derry Corner and the Gasyard Féile (an annual music and arts festival held in a former gasyard) are pop ...
in the Brandywell area and shares the road with another sports-ground,
Celtic Park Celtic Park is the home stadium of Celtic Football Club, in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, Scotland. With a capacity of 60,832, it is the largest football stadium in Scotland, and the eighth-largest stadium in the United Kingdom. It is al ...
, the headquarters of the
Derry GAA The Derry County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) ( ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael Coiste Chontae Dhoire) or Derry GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland. It is responsible for Gaelic games in County Londonderry ...
. The ground, which is within walking distance of the city centre, is more commonly referred to as simply, the 'Brandywell', and is the home of
Derry City FC Derry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Derry, Northern Ireland. It plays in the League of Ireland Premier Division, the top tier of league football in the Republic of Ireland, and is the League of Irelan ...
. Previously it was the home of St Columb's Court and
Derry Celtic Derry Celtic Football Club was a football club from Derry, Ireland. The club, formed as St Columb's Hall in 1890, changing to St Columb's Hall Celtic in 1893, and Derry Celtic in 1899, was once the primary team in the city, but was voted out ...
. The ground, as well as the stadium, features a large grass training area, a club shop, a club house, from which the club and ticket offices operate, and parking space for cars and coaches. The legal owner of the stadium is the
Derry City Council Derry City Council ( ga, Comhairle Cathrach Dhoire; Ulster-Scots: ''Derry Cittie Cooncil'') was the local government authority for the city of Derry in Northern Ireland. It merged with Strabane District Council in April 2015 under local governm ...
, however, which, under licence, permits Derry City to make use of the grounds for training matches and the running of its various other club affairs, such as administration and the retail outlet. Plans of Derry City's to purchase a pitch fell through after their formation due to the tight timescale between their birth in 1928 and the season's beginning in 1929 and so the
Londonderry Corporation Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...
(now known as the Derry City Council) was approached for the use of the Brandywell Stadium which had been used for football up until the end of the 19th century. This began an association between the club and the ground which has survived until the present day. The club are still operating under the constraints of
the Honourable the Irish Society The Honourable The Irish SocietyIn full, the "Society of the Governor and Assistants, London, of the New Plantation in Ulster, within the Realm of Ireland". is a consortium of livery companies of the City of London established during the Plantat ...
charter limitations which declare that the Brandywell must be available for the recreation of the community. In effect, the club do not have private ownership over the ground and, thus, cannot develop it by their own accord with that discretion being left to the Derry City Council. Derry City's first game at the Brandywell was against
Glentoran Glentoran Football Club is a professional football club that plays in the NIFL Premiership. The club was founded in 1882. History Early history In 1914, Glentoran won the Vienna Cup, becoming the first United Kingdom team to win a European t ...
on 22 August 1929. The stadium has played host to many notable matches, such as Derry City's 1–0 victory
IFK Göteborg Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna Göteborg (officially IFK Göteborg Fotboll), commonly known as IFK Göteborg, IFK (especially locally) or simply Göteborg, is a Swedish professional football club based in Gothenburg. Founded in 1904, it is the ...
on 27 July 2006 in the
UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay ...
first qualifying round. However, current facilities for spectators and media simply cannot cope with the demand for some matches. The ground also hosted the FAI League Cup final in 2006 between Derry City and
Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...
rivals,
Shelbourne FC Shelbourne Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Shíol Bhroin) is an Irish association football club based in Drumcondra, Dublin, who play in the League of Ireland Premier Division. Shelbourne were founded in Dublin in 1895. In 1904 the club joine ...
. Derry won the dramatic game after it went to a penalty shoot-out. The dimensions of the pitch itself measure 111 yards in length by 72 yards in width. Due to health and safety regulations the stadium has a seating capacity of 2,900 for European football competitions run by
UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs fo ...
, although it can accommodate 8,200 on a normal domestic match-day including those both standing and seated. For a period of 14 years, between 1971 and 1985 only greyhound meetings and junior football were held at the venue as both the police and the Irish League imposed a ban on Derry City using the stadium as their home ground due to
the Troubles The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an "i ...
. Derry City used the
Coleraine Showgrounds The Showgrounds is a football stadium in Coleraine, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is the home ground of Coleraine F.C. The stadium holds approximately 3,500 with the stadium consisting of a mix of terracing and seating. Between Septem ...
instead for a number of 'home' ties in the 1971–72 season. While the police ruled the Brandywell was safe to use for the 1972–73 season, a league vote to allow Derry to return to the ground failed by one vote. A number of opposing teams, especially those with unionist support, were reluctant to travel through the area surrounding the stadium due to the
Troubles The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an " ...
. Faced with an unsustainable arrangement and dwindling finances, Derry left the Irish League entirely in October 1972 due to the unsustainability of such an arrangement. 1985 saw Derry admitted into the Republic's league, the
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 ...
, and a much-welcomed return of senior football to the ground. Unusually, the Brandywell does not usually have a police presence inside it during Derry City games; however, the
PSNI The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI; ga, Seirbhís Póilíneachta Thuaisceart Éireann; Ulster-Scots: ') is the police force that serves Northern Ireland. It is the successor to the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) after it was reform ...
do have the ability to enter the stadium in an emergency. The Brandywell Stadium also hosts the final games of the Foyle Cup tournament. In 2002, the stadium was voted the tenth favourite sporting venue in the UK by
BBC's #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
Radio Five Live BBC Radio 5 Live is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that broadcasts mainly news, sport, discussion, interviews and phone-ins. It is the principal BBC radio station covering sport in the United Kingdom, broadcast ...
.


Development; past, present and planned

The
Brandywell The Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium ( ga, Tobar an Fhíoruisce ) is a municipal football stadium with an adjoining greyhound racing track in Derry, Northern Ireland. It is the home ground of League of Ireland team Derry City F.C. and (temporaril ...
has undergone large-scale redevelopment in recent years with the installation of new state of the art floodlights in January 1990 being marked by a win over
Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...
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The curved
cantilever A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is supported at only one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a cant ...
'New Stand' was constructed in 1991 and the terraced 'Jungle' was demolished in 2004. The 'Jungle' section was the home of Derry's noisier hardcore element of fans. Many of these fanatics now occupy the area of and surrounding Block J in the 'New Stand'. The quieter blocks of the 'New Stand', where the remainder of the more-reserved spectators sit, are sometimes referred to as the 'Library' in jest by the louder group. Furthermore, the stadium saw the construction of 450 extra seats opposite the 'New Stand' on the site of the old 'Jungle' to complement the pre-existing small
Glentoran Glentoran Football Club is a professional football club that plays in the NIFL Premiership. The club was founded in 1882. History Early history In 1914, Glentoran won the Vienna Cup, becoming the first United Kingdom team to win a European t ...
Stand (the old main stand; an elevated wooden structure with bench seating) on that side of the ground, as well as the development of a drug-testing facility, in August 2006 in order to cope with the demand for Derry's
UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay ...
second qualifying round tie with Gretna FC. Although the remainder of available space around the pitch and racing track is used as a terrace, development is set to continue with the building of the proposed Brandywell Complex. On behalf of the club, Brandywell Properties' plans for the complex include an 8,000 all-seater stadium (which will be expandable), new playing and training pitches, an indoor football complex, retail units, a medical centre and a pharmacy. There are, however, no plans under the current proposals, to include a dog-racing track. The cost of this development, which is aimed to be completed by 2012, is reportedly £12 million. Work on the new complex was planned to begin by Spring 2007. The need for new stadium facilities became prominent with the old side of the stadium becoming noticeably more run-down by the season. However, as legal owners of the land,
Derry City Council Derry City Council ( ga, Comhairle Cathrach Dhoire; Ulster-Scots: ''Derry Cittie Cooncil'') was the local government authority for the city of Derry in Northern Ireland. It merged with Strabane District Council in April 2015 under local governm ...
ultimately holds the key to the proceeding of any planned development. While an alternative idea of building a new multi-purpose stadium for the city (which would also provide a new home for Derry City FC) on the site of a dismantled
British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkha ...
post at the city's Fort George, or even a move to a re-developed Templemore Sports Complex, has also been aired due to delays in the process, on 12 January 2007, financial advisor and former
Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional ...
president, Peter Quinn, who played a pivotal role in securing funding for the re-development of the modern-day
Croke Park Croke Park ( ga, Páirc an Chrócaigh, ) is a Gaelic games stadium in Dublin, Ireland. Named after Archbishop Thomas Croke, it is referred to as Croker by GAA fans and locals. It serves as both the principal national stadium of Ireland and h ...
, was appointed as a consultant by Brandywell Properties to spearhead the club's bid to take over the re-development of the Brandywell Stadium and help the plan progress. On behalf of Brandywell Properties he is to seek funding from both the Irish and
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...
governments, as well as injections from the National Lottery along with sums from other sporting agencies in order to help raise the £12 million needed. The proposals will eventually be submitted to the
Government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government i ...
, as well to the city council. On 19 February 2007, the chairman of Brandywell Properties, Jack McCauley, a former chairman of Derry City, re-iterated the intention of focusing on the Brandywell Stadium for re-development and made it clear that the club's traditional and spiritual home at the Brandywell was "the only show in town" as far as the football club was concerned. He also expressed how he was "amazed and surprised" that options such as the Templemore Sports Complex and Fort George were actually talked of being available. Details of a state-of-the-art stand on the Lone Moor Road side of the ground were announced in October 2009. Then Derry City chairman Pat McDaid said he hoped the work would be completed by 2012. The need for repair was highlighted by the club's return to European competition that year. In 2010, Ostick + Williams was appointed by Derry City Council to carry out redevelopment of the stadium to bring it into line with modern safety standards

Included in their brief was compliance with UEFA Category 2 and 3 standard to allow for European games to be played there. The planned facilities include a new 2,600 seat stand, bringing seating capacity up to 5,100, as well as new facilities for players, media and spectators. An 3G synthetic pitch, Artificial turf will be laid, and the greyhound racing facilities will also be updated. The track and football pitch will be at separate locations within the showgrounds. Spectator access to the ground will be improved, segregation will be possible for crowd control when necessary, and there will also be the ability to stage concerts and other events at the stadium. A sports centre at Brandywell will be demolished as part of the redevelopment plan. It was initially hoped that work would commence in 2011. The stated cost of work was £5 million. Funding was expected to come from Stormont, as a deal agreed between Linfield and the
Irish Football Association The Irish Football Association (IFA) is the governing body for association football in Northern Ireland. It organised the Ireland national football team from 1880 to 1950, which after 1954, became the Northern Ireland national football team. ...
for them to use Windsor Park for national team matches freed up funds. The urgency of funding was exacerbated by essential safety works. A share of £31 million was made available. Concerns that the club doesn't play in the
Northern Ireland Football League The Northern Ireland Football League (commonly abbreviated to NIFL), known historically, and still colloquially, as the Irish League, is the national football league of Northern Ireland. The Irish League was originally formed in 1890, with the l ...
and should not have access to government funding were dismissed by Derry City chairman Philip O'Doherty. He said the club pays tax and should be entitled to the same facilities as any Belfast club. Derry City Council, owners of the stadium, agreed in principle in December 2013 to spend £2.7 million on its redevelopment. In 2015, Mr O'Doherty blamed a council consultation project for the delay in redevelopment, which had already seen part of the Glentoran stand torn down. That stand was one of the oldest structures in the Irish Football League, and originally stood at the Oval football ground in Belfast, hence its name. The stadium was purchased, disassembled and reconstructed at Brandywell in the 1940s. Work was delayed by a further year, potentially scuppering plans to have Celtic F.C. formally open the new stadium. In January 2016, the club announced the new stadium would be built ready for the 2017 season, and that work would start in July. On 5 July 2016, Derry City and Strabane District Council advised they were in the final stages of a procurement process for the Brandywell stadium. Two months later, the final stages were still in progress. As the 2016 season came to a close, club chairman Philip O'Doherty said that European football at Brandywell was under threat due to an as yet unknown start date for the redevelopment. On 19 October, Derry City and Strabane District Council stated the appointment of a contractor was ongoing. Derry City qualified for the Europa League for the 2017/18 season. Work finally commenced in December 2016 on the new 3G pitch and all-seated stand, which was completed in time for the start of the 2018 season. All home games in 2017 were played at
Maginn Park Maginn Park is a football stadium located in Buncrana, County Donegal, Republic of Ireland. It is used by the amateur Inishowen Football League for staging cup finals and other important matches. During the 2017 League of Ireland season, the g ...
.


Records

*Record League of Ireland attendance: 9,800 ( Derry City-
Finn Harps Finn Harps Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Chláirsigh na Finne) are an Irish football club that play in the First Division of the League of Ireland, as of 2023. The club was founded in 1954 and elected to the league in 1969. However, it was te ...
,
FAI Cup The Football Association of Ireland Senior Challenge Cup (FAI Cup), known as the Extra.ie FAI Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out association football competition contested annually by teams from the Republic of Ireland (as well as Derry ...
Second Round, 23 February 1986)


The stadium in song

During games, Derry City's fans can often be heard singing:
We all live in the randy Brandywell,
The randy Brandywell,
The randy Brandywell.
-To the tune of the Beatles' '' Yellow Submarine''.


Greyhound Racing

The original track around the stadium existed from 1932 until 2016. In 2018 a new stand alone track was opened.


References


Footnotes

"''Tobar an Fhíoruisce''" translates literally into English as "the well of pure water".


External links


Brandywell information on Derry City's official website, ''CityWeb''
{{Greyhound stadiums in Ireland Association football venues in Northern Ireland Buildings and structures in Derry (city) Derry City F.C. Sports venues in County Londonderry Sports venues completed in 1928 1928 establishments in Northern Ireland Greyhound racing venues in the United Kingdom Derry Celtic F.C.