Brandywell Stadium

The Ryan McBride Stadium is located close to the Bogside area, to the South-West of Derry city centre. The ground shares its surroundings with County Derry’s Celtic Park Stadium, and for those who are sightseeing, both stadiums are visible from the Grand Parade side of the City’s ancient walls.

The vast hillside City Cemetery looms over both grounds and dwarfing the surrounding housing estates. The stadium itself is distinctive, with its shape being formed by a history of hosting greyhound races.

The Main Stand has a capacity of 955 seats and runs for around half the length of the pitch, sitting astride the halfway line. It has a tall cantilevered roof, meaning that there are no supports to hinder your view of the playing action.

The East Stand opposite was opened in 1991 and it contains around 2,700 seats. Despite being set back from the pitch the stand still feels well connected to the action. The stadium is complete with a set of four tall floodlights.

In 2018, Brandywell Stadium was renamed the Ryan McBride after a former player and captain of the team.

Institute FC miss out on key funding – September 2025

Communities Minister Gordon Lyons revealed that 20 of the 41 clubs that were eligible for funding from the Northern Ireland Football Fund had gone through to the next stage in the process, leaving Institute off the list.

The news came as a devastating blow to the club, who requested £6m to build a new permanent home, having been without a base since 2017.

In an interview with BBC Radio Foyle, club chairman Bill Anderson described the decision as one of lowest points in Institute history, and said:

“We are one of the oldest clubs in the country — definitely the oldest club in the north west, but what do we do now? We need to chat with the Department for Communities to see what their perception is in terms of need. I would have thought that need – both footballing need and community need – was really high, so I don’t really understand the process.”

Derry City FC also applied for funding to finish work on the Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium but were similarly denied.

Institute FC agree deal for deconstruction of former stadium – August 2025

In August 2025, Institute reached an agreement with Londonderry YMCA Ltd that will see the deconstruction of the Riverside Stadium, which they were forced to abandon in 2017 following severe flooding.

A contractor was appointed, and work will begin shortly.

Institute FC are playing their home fixtures at Brandywell Stadium, the home of Derry City FC after floods condemned their former home, Riverside Stadium.

It is envisaged that for most games only the Main Stand will be open, the ticket prices are as follows:
Adults £11
Over 65’s/Under 22’s £7
Under 18’s £5
Under 12’s Free when accompanied by a paying adult.

For more information about Brandywell Stadium and how to get there, see the Derry City page of this website.

Some nearby places to grab a drink include:

• WG’s Bar – 1 Society Street, Derry BT48 6PJ Northern Ireland
• Rocking Chair Bar – 15 Waterloo Street Derry, Derry BT48 6HA Northern Ireland
• Mary B’s – 42 Elmwood Terrace, Derry BT48 9JQ Northern Ireland

Directions and Car Parking

From the South
Follow the A5 from Strabane alongside the River Foyle, turn left and cross the River Foyle on the A2   Craigavon Bridge. You will then come to a roundabout with the “hands across the divide” statue. Turn the left turn into Abercorn Road and follow the road as it kinks to the right and becomes Barrack Street. You will then see the floodlights of Celtic Park GAA Stadium direct ahead of you with the floodlights of Brandywell just visible to the left. As the road starts to slope down turn left into Windmill Terrace and follow the road as it snakes downhill and joins Lecky Road. Take the second right turn into Brandywell Road.

From the East
Follow the A6 from Dungiven into the outskirts of Derry, passing Altnagelvin Hospital then Londonderry Railway Station. Following the city centre signs, turn right and cross the River Foyle on the A2 Craigavon Bridge. Then as ‘From the South’ above.

From the West
Follow the R236 from Ballybofey / R265 from Lifford merging into the A40 on the south suburbs of Derry. On the approach to the City Centre turn left into Lone Moor Road. The main entrance gate leading to the stadium, Sports Centre, training ground and football club car park is on the right.

Car Parking
There is a car park at the stadium which is accessed from Lone Moor Road, using the main entrance gate to the Sports Centre and training ground. The club car park is on the left hand side beyond the rear of the old Main Stand. Otherwise it is case of street parking in the local area.

By Train

Londonderry Railway Station is located just over a mile away from the stadium. Londonderry is linked to the whole of Northern Ireland by the Translink and Northern Ireland Railways Network.

The quickest route from Belfast would be to take the Londonderry Railway Line service from Great Victoria Street via Antrim, Ballymena and Coleraine. Journey time is around 2 hours 15 minutes with 8 services throughout the day.

The trains terminate at Londonderry. There are no direct services that operate from Dublin, passengers would need to first travel to Belfast Central.

The stadium is around a 15 minute walk away; When you come out of the railway station booking office, turn right and walk along the riverside. Cross the River Foyle on the nearby Craigavon Bridge. You will then come to a roundabout with the “hands across the divide” statue.

Turn left into Abercorn Road and follow the road as it kinks to the right and becomes Barrack Street. You will then see the floodlights of Celtic Park GAA Stadium direct ahead of you with the floodlights of Brandywell just visible to the left.

As the road starts to slope down turn left into Windmill Terrace and follow the road as it snakes downhill and joins Lecky Road. Take the second right turn into Brandywell Road. Turnstiles for the New Stand on the East side of the stadium are on the left with turnstiles to the old West side terracing, with the open seating and Glentoran Stand further up the hill.

By Bus

There is a bus service which runs from Dublin Busaras to Derry Foyle Street. There is the Bus Eireann Expressway Service 033 from Dublin Busaras which then becomes the Translink NI Ulsterbus Service 274 to Londonderry Foyle Street. The service runs every day although there are only six services each day.

For those travelling from the Mid-West of the Irish Republic Bus Eireann Expressway Service 064 links Galway with Donegal, travelling via Knock Ireland West Airport, Sligo and Ballyshannon. The service then continues through to Donegal, Ballybofey and Letterkenny, terminating at Derry Foyle Street.

With all bus services arriving into Derry/Londonderry Foyle Street in the City Centre it will then take a 10 minute walk to locate Brandywell, which is located in Bogside, outside of the city walls.

When you come out of the bus station walk through the narrow exit next to the enquiries offices and turn right onto Foyle Street. You will then see the clock tower of the Guildhall direct ahead of you.

Turn left and walk under the Shipquay Gate arch in the City wall, then walk up the hill into the City Centre. At the Diamond War Memorial turn right into Butcher Street and exit the City Centre through the Butchers Gate. You will then see the floodlights of Celtic Park GAA Stadium direct ahead of you with the floodlights of Brandywell just visible beyond.

At the junction, turn left and follow Fahan Street downhill alongside the grass banking outside the city wall. At the crossroads turn left and follow Lecky Road past the Bogside Artists Studio.

Continue for 3 minutes then turn right into Brandywell Road. Turnstiles for the New Stand on the East side of the stadium are on the left hand, with turnstiles to the old West side terracing, open seating and Glentoran Stand further up the hill.

• 2019-20: 282 (Northern Ireland Premiership)
• 2018-19: 447 (Northern Ireland Premiership)