Republic of Ireland

14Grounds on this page

74,722Total capacity

10Fan reviews

Republic of Ireland grounds · 14 grounds

Shamrock Rovers

Tallaght Stadium · 8,695

Derry City

Ryan McBride Stadium · 7,700

Bray Wanderers

Carlisle Grounds · 7,000

Cork City

Turner’s Cross · 6,900

Longford Town

Bishopsgate (Strokestown Road) · 6,000

St Patrick’s Athletic

Richmond Park · 5,500

Sligo Rovers

Showgrounds · 5,500

Waterford

Waterford Regional Sports Centre · 5,500

Dundalk

Oriel Park · 4,500

Bohemian

Dalymount Park · 4,227

Finn Harps

Finn Park · 4,200

Shelbourne

Tolka Park · 3,500

Treaty United

Markets Field · 3,000

Wexford FC

Ferrycarrig Park · 2,500

#	Stadium	Capacity		Opened	Fan reviews
1	Tallaght StadiumShamrock Rovers	8,695		2009	1
2	Ryan McBride StadiumDerry City	7,700		1928	0
3	Carlisle GroundsBray Wanderers	7,000		1862	3
4	Turner’s CrossCork City	6,900		—	1
5	Bishopsgate (Strokestown Road)Longford Town	6,000		1993	0
6	Richmond ParkSt Patrick’s Athletic	5,500		—	0
7	ShowgroundsSligo Rovers	5,500		1928	0
8	Waterford Regional Sports CentreWaterford	5,500		1993	0
9	Oriel ParkDundalk	4,500		—	0
10	Dalymount ParkBohemian	4,227		1901	3
11	Finn ParkFinn Harps	4,200		1954	1
12	Tolka ParkShelbourne	3,500		1953	1
13	Markets FieldTreaty United	3,000		1886	0
14	Ferrycarrig ParkWexford FC	2,500		2005	0

Oldest grounds still in use

• Carlisle Grounds (Bray Wanderers)1862
• Markets Field (Treaty United)1886
• Dalymount Park (Bohemian)1901
• Ryan McBride Stadium (Derry City)1928
• Showgrounds (Sligo Rovers)1928
• Tolka Park (Shelbourne)1953

Republic of Ireland football stadiums overview

Football Ground Guide has 14 guides to club grounds in the Republic of Ireland, all on this page, largest ground first. The Aviva Stadium, the country’s national stadium and home of the national team, has its own guide on the Other football grounds page, alongside grounds such as Drogheda United’s United Park and Galway United’s Eamonn Deacy Park. 

By Region/City

As you will most likely expect, many of the major teams in the Republic of Ireland are located within Dublin – the country’s capital city. This applies to four of the current 10 teams in the Irish Premier League, meaning just six sides are spread across the rest of the country. 

A full breakdown of teams in each major city is as follows:

Dublin

As mentioned, many of the country’s most established teams are located within Dublin, with 40% of sides in the Premier League based there, as well as the Republic of Ireland’s national stadium. 

The four Dublin-based club stadium guides are:

• Bohemians
• St Patrick’s Athletic
• Shamrock Rovers 
• Shelbourne

Dundalk

However, one team that has often penetrated the ‘big four’ Dublin clubs is Dundalk FC, who, unsurprisingly, are based in the city of Dundalk in their home Oriel Park.

They have won 14 top-flight league titles, making them the second most successful team in the country. So while Dundalk may not be the home of as many football teams as Dublin, it has certainly still had an important role to play in the sports development in Ireland. 

Cork

Cork is the second-largest city in the Republic of Ireland, but, much like Dundalk, has just one major football team representing the area. 

That is of course Cork City FC who play their football at Turners Cross. They are the winners of five league titles, three of which were in the top flight.

Limerick

While there have been multiple different sides who call the city of Limerick home at one point, there has only ever been one at any given time since 1937. Limerick is the definition of a one-club city. 

However, after Limerick FC dissolved in 2019, there are currently no stadium guides for active Limerick-based teams on Football Ground Guide – despite the city being the third largest in the country. 

Galway

Due to the concentration of clubs in Dublin, most cities in the Republic of Ireland are one-team regions — Galway is one of those areas. 

Galway United were formed in 1937 and whilst they have one second-division league title to their name, are yet to achieve the same feat in the country’s top flight. They currently play their football at Eamon Decay Park.

What are Republic of Ireland stadiums like?

The first thing to note is that stadiums in the Republic of Ireland are fairly small in nature compared to most of the other major grounds in European football – very few venues at the club level boast a capacity greater than 10,000. 

For example, Oriel Park, the home of Dundalk FC, contains approximately 4,500 seats. 

However, grounds being fairly modest in size isn’t necessarily a bad thing and offers plenty of benefits. First and foremost, the fact that supporters in smaller venues tend to be able to create far better atmospheres due to the site’s compact design. 

Secondly, match-going fans are also likely to be sat or stood much closer to the pitch – something which many supporters love. 

Key stats

Biggest stadiums in the Republic of Ireland

As alluded to, there aren’t many big stadiums in the Republic of Ireland from a capacity point of view – most of the large venues in the country are instead reserved for Gaelic football. 

The largest football ground in the country is the national stadium, known as the Aviva Stadium. This has a capacity of 51,700 – dwarfing every other venue on the list. 

A list of the top five biggest football stadiums in Ireland is as follows:

• Aviva Stadium – 51,700
• Tallaght Stadium – 10,716
• Turners Cross – 7,485
• Tolka Park – 5,700
• Richmond Park – 5,350

Best atmosphere

Thanks to their compact designs, you would struggle to find a stadium in Ireland that has a poor atmosphere. That being said, some are of course slightly better than others. 

Dublin is an excellent place to start when looking at atmospheres and Shamrock Rovers’ Tallaght Stadium is arguably the best of the lot. The entire ground is electric on matchday, particularly the South Stand – although tickets for this section are also the hardest to secure. 

Elsewhere in the country, Cork City’s Turners Cross venue is widely regarded as having one of the best matchday atmospheres, while Galway United’s Eamon Decay Park is another fan favourite in the country. 

Oldest and most recent stadiums

The oldest stadium in the Republic of Ireland is a venue that we are yet to discuss – Carlisle Ground, the home of Bray Wanderers. Opened in 1862, the site is also one of the oldest grounds in the entire world.

After the Carlisle Ground, it is once again time to look towards Dublin and the Aviva Stadium, which was officially opened in 1872. The country’s national stadium, it is a venue which has been at the core of Irish football almost since the sport began. 

At the complete opposite end of the scale is the UCD Bowl, home of Univesity College Dublin AFC. The ground opened as recently as 2008, meaning it is comfortably the newest major stadium in the Republic of Ireland, with many of the country’s other venues opening in the early 20th century. 

Past major European football matches in the Republic of Ireland

Given that Aviva Stadium is the only venue in the country to have been awarded Category Four status by UEFA, it makes sense that the vast majority of major European finals hosted in the Republic of Ireland have taken place at the ground. 

Some of the most notable matches the stadium has hosted are as follows:

• 2011 Europa League Final
• 2024 Europa League Final

H3 Euro 2028

The Aviva Stadium is also set to make its debut as a host in major international tournament football, with the site selected as one of the 10 hosting venues of Euro 2028, taking place across Ireland and the United Kingdom.