At its heart, Connacht Rugby has always been about connection; between players and supporters, cities and provinces, past and future. It’s a club shaped as much by those on the stands as those on the pitch. Its greatest strength has never been any single star player, structure or season, but the way its many parts combine into something greater. And now, as a new era begins at Dexcom Stadium, that idea feels more tangible than ever. Discover it all below...
On January 24th, Connacht ran out in front of a transformed stadium. After more than 15 years of planning, delays, and determination, the new Clan Stand opened. It’s a first-of-its-kind, state-of-the-art development that increases capacity, modernises facilities and redefines what a rugby matchday in Galway can be. For local players like Dylan Tierney-Martin and Cáolin Blade, it represents both progress and continuity - what Connacht has always been is now matched by what its stadium has become.
For Dylan, the anticipation was thrilling. He grew up a stone’s throw away in Moycullen, came through the academy, and has spent nearly a decade watching the grounds evolve around him. “I loved playing here in front of the old stand,” he says. “It was small, but it was so loud.” Now, with over 12,000 expected inside Dexcom Stadium, that familiar roar will arrive from a new height, on a different scale, with a fresh energy.
Home games, he explains, are about comfort; the pitch you know, the routines you trust, the sense that when pressure hits, the crowd is pushing with you rather than against you. “In big moments, when the crowd’s on your side, there’s a tangible energy you can cling on to,” he says. “It makes it easier to put yourself out there, when there are people in the crowd who mean a lot.”
Connacht is small, Galway smaller still, and Dylan believes that closeness defines the club. Even through difficult seasons, the support never fades. “They're always there,” he shares. “I've seen some of the worst days weather-wise here that you wouldn't even put a dog out in. The supporters are here screaming and shouting, no matter what. The fans are unbelievable. It's very special.”
That loyalty is something Cáolin cherishes immensely. “We don't take it for granted. After the game, you see young lads and young girls asking for autographs, they're shivering cold and still there with a smile on their face. It means a huge lot, not just to me, but for everyone in Connacht Rugby.” From Monivea, Cáolin has spent over a decade with Connacht, rising from a small junior club to become one of the province’s most standout figures. When he first saw plans for the redeveloped stadium, the completed project felt distant. Now, its reality has landed. “From where it was then to where it is now, it’s amazing,” he says.
above: Cáolin Blade
The new Clan Stand is only part of the picture. Behind the scenes, the High Performance Centre has already changed daily life for players, with new recovery facilities and communal spaces for the team. Cáolin highlights what the public might not immediately see: this facility will serve young players from local clubs and schools and show the next generation they don’t need to leave the west to accomplish their dreams. “I was lucky enough to do that,” he shares. “And there’s plenty more young lads coming up that I’m sure will [achieve their dreams] as well.”
A sense of responsibility to past and future players runs through both players. Cáolin recalls the 2016 URC win as a moment that belonged to the entire province: bonfires across the west, fans following the open-top bus through Galway, strangers united by pride. “Everyone was out,” he remembers, from the supporters who travelled to Edinburgh to those waiting as the team flew home. It revealed the true scale of what Connacht Rugby means beyond the bubble of the squad. “I think that whole weekend changed how I viewed the wider people of Connacht.”
For Dylan, that win lives in memory rather than experience, but its impact is no less powerful. Years later, bringing a trophy back to Galway remains one of his biggest ambitions. He speaks about it with the perspective of someone who understands what that success gives back: the pride in coffee shops months later, the stories still told by fans who weren’t even at the final. It is a moment that Cáolin helped create, and the future Dylan is driven to deliver, a celebration just waiting to happen again.
The influence of Connacht Rugby doesn’t stay on the pitch, it flows into Galway’s streets and pubs, turning the city itself into an extension of the stadium. Dylan smiles when he talks about Sally Long’s, saying, “the owner actually brought me to my first rugby game with my dad. It's a bit of a full-circle moment that now he’s my sponsor. Noel and Shane have been good to me since before I was professional, looking after me a lot back then.” Adding that, “it's great to be associated with something like that.”
above: Dylan Tierney-Martin
Cáolin echoes that sentiment with Murty Rabbitt’s, a long-time gathering point for the Connacht clan, where wins are toasted, losses dissected, and opposition players welcomed for a beer. “The owner, Ciarán, is very good to us,” he says. It’s a reminder that Connacht Rugby is woven tightly into the everyday life of the city and province it represents.
Dexcom Stadium now captures that spirit as well. With its new facilities; including a fan plaza, live music & entertainment spaces and a Heineken-sponsored bar, it is designed not just for 80 minutes of rugby but as a destination in its own right, as a place for supporters to gather before and long after the game.
For every time the team runs out onto that pitch, when that familiar matchday excitement buzzes through the crowd, Connacht will still be what it has always been: a team powered by its community, and the heart in mouth moments that make you leap from your seat, celebrating with strangers who are in truth, your own clan. The stand is new but that pride is not. For all the latest fixtures, tickets, and matchday news visit connachtrugby.ie.
All photos by Ciarán MacChoncarraige.
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