Galway United set to confirm temporary home venues next week
League of Ireland club needs to move home games for 11-week period while drainage work takes place at Eamonn Deacy Park
A clearer picture on the venue for the home games for both Galway United's men's and women's sides over the next couple of months should emerge next week, after work began this week on drainage works at Eamonn Deacy Park.
The top two inches of the surface of the pitch at the Dyke Road ground was scraped off this week as part of a full-scale drainage and resurfacing project, the first major works on the pitch in 32 years since it was initially laid in 1994.
The work is expected to take 11 weeks, closing the ground until August 7 at the earliest. United's women's home game against DLR Waves in the All-Island Cup tomorrow has been moved to Maree (5pm), with their other home games expected to be moved to Moyne Villa.
The club is in the process of finalising details for upcoming men’s fixtures at Pearse Stadium, which should be announced after Tuesday's All-Ireland Gaelic football draw.
If it is taken that the work at Eamonn Deacy Park will be completed by the scheduled date of August 7, United's men's and women's sides both have four games in that time frame.
The men are due to play Dundalk on the weekend of Friday June 12; Derry City on the weekend starting Friday June 19; Sligo Rovers on the weekend starting Friday July 10; and Waterford on the weekend starting Friday July 24.
They are also due to host Drogheda United on Friday August 7, when Eamonn Deacy Park is expected to be available again.
It was announced earlier this year an historic agreement had been reached with Galway GAA for United to temporarily relocate to Pearse Stadium in Salthill for the duration of the closure of Eamonn Deacy Park, a move given the blessing from both the local and national GAA bodies.
However, one slight spanner in the works could emerge on Tuesday if the county's senior Gaelic footballers get aa home draw in the next round of the All-Ireland championship.
Galway's win over Kildare last weekend has seen them advance to Round 2A, which is scheduled to be played on the weekend of Friday June 12, and if they get a home draw, it is unlikely to see the Dundalk game going ahead on the same weekend.
There are options available if that proves the case: the most obvious one is for Galway United's game to be postponed, although it is understood the FAI is not keen on such a move. The clubs could agree to switch fixtures, with United travelling to Dundalk on that weekend, and instead hosting them on August 21 when they were due to travel to Oriel Park.
However, Dundalk are set too celebrate 100 years of playing in the league on that August weekend, so that option looks to be off the table.
Other options for a home venue in Galway have been looked at, and all have been ruled out; and any effort by the authorities to move the game outside the county to the likes of Lissywoolen in Athlone, Markets Field in Limerick, or Bishopsgate in Longford would be firmly resisted.
Athlone Town are away to Kerry FC that weekend, but Treaty United are at home to Bray Wanderers and Longford Town are at home to Cobh Ramblers, ruling out the latter two venues. Playing he game in Athlone would not only rob United of home advantage, it would also hand Dundalk the advantage as the pitch at the Midlands venue is an artificial surface, as is Dundalk's Oriel Park.
The women's fixtures look to be less complicated: they are understood to be relocating to the home of Moyne Villa in Headford, where they train.
The first game is tomorrow against DLR Waves, but with Headfest 2026 taking place in Headford, Villa's grounds are not available this weekend, hence the move to Maree.
However, it is understood that the league games against Waterford (Saturday June 20), Shamrock Rovers (Saturday July 11), and DLR Waves (Saturday July 25) will take place in Moyne Villa.