Derry City get green light from GAA to play homes games at Celtic Park

Exciting times continue to gather momentum for Derry City Football Club, both on and off the pitch, as the new League of Ireland season approaches.

The long-awaited return of club legend James McClean last week, alongside a raft of new signings, has injected renewed optimism, with Tiernan Lynch’s squad shaping up strongly ahead of the new campaign.

A second-place finish last season, just three points behind champions Shamrock Rovers in Lynch’s first year at the helm, saw the Candystripes secure a return to European competition in 2026. Derry City will enter the Europa League at the first qualifying round, with two opportunities to progress on the continental stage, with a defeat at any point seeing them drop to the Europa Conference.

Off the field, significant infrastructural developments are also progressing. Plans to install a new grass surface at the Ryan McBride Brandywell, replacing the much-maligned artificial pitch, are well advanced and temporary relocation to Celtic Park during the installation phase received final approval from the GAA on Saturday.

That evolving relationship with Derry GAA has grown steadily stronger in recent years. Since last season, the Candystripes have been using the county’s Owenbeg Centre of Excellence in Dungiven, approximately 32 kilometres from their traditional Lone Moor Road home.

Initially agreed as a two-year arrangement, the club is now entering its second year at Owenbeg. Speaking exclusively to the Derry Post, club PRO Lawrence Moore provided an update on plans for a permanent Derry City training base and what it could soon become.

“The Derry City training ground will double as an academy ground and a school,” Moore explained. “It’ll have offices and a shop alongside all the facilities that a modern club needs. It’s still very much in the planning stages, but a site has been identified. Certainly for the next two years, Owenbeg will remain the number one option as Derry City’s training base.”

While the journey to Dungiven represents a departure from tradition, the benefits of having a stable, high-quality base have been considerable. Previously, the club was forced to move constantly between council-owned facilities across the city. Now with the use of Derry GAA’s state of the art facility the benefits are clear to see for all involved.

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“There was an awful lot of moving around. Sometimes we trained at the Brandywell; if not there, then the Shared Village in the Waterside or Clooney Park West,” Moore said. “We were basically moving around week to week, depending on availability. We had no base.”

Now, with access to Owenbeg’s state-of-the-art infrastructure, that instability is a thing of the past.

“If you go down and see it, the facilities are phenomenal,” Moore added. “The players love it. All-weather pitches, a gym, offices, a canteen, everything is there. At the moment, there’s nowhere within the city that comes close to it.”

Yet the move has not been without its challenges. For many, Derry City FC is the beating heart of the town, and relocating training away from the urban core inevitably reduces the players’ day-to-day presence among the people they represent.

“Having your own facilities and the freedom to use them as we wish is hugely positive,” Moore acknowledged. “The only drawback is that there’s less of a presence in the city during the week. But that’s something we’re conscious of and want to address.

“It’s about team-building, visibility, and being part of the community. We know there’s a happy medium to be found training in Dungiven while maintaining the club’s ownership of its place within the city. That balance is what we’re working to get right.”

With momentum building both structurally and on the pitch, Moore believes the club is entering a defining period.

“I genuinely believe that, with a fair wind, there are very good times ahead for Derry City and its supporters. When Derry City is doing well, the city itself feels it. It would be wonderful to see a cup or a league title return; the Guildhall would look magnificent.”