All you need to know: All-Ireland hurling semi-finals

SATURDAY 6 JULY
Clare v Kilkenny, 3pm, Croke Park

SUNDAY 7 JULY
Cork v Limerick, 4pm, Croke Park

ONLINE
Live blogs on RTÉ.ie and the RTÉ News app. Highlights also available across the weekend.

TV

Saturday’s game will be broadcast on RTÉ One and the RTÉ Player, preceded by the All-Ireland camogie quarter-final between Kilkenny and Dublin.

Sunday’s semi-final will be on RTÉ2 and the RTÉ Player, alongside live coverage of the All-Ireland camogie quarter-final between Galway and Waterford.

Highlights of all the weekend’s action on The Sunday Game, RTÉ2 and the RTÉ Player, from 9.30pm.

RADIO
Live commentary and updates throughout the weekend on RTÉ Radio 1 on Saturday Sport and Sunday Sport and RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta’s Spórt an tSathairn and Spórt an Lae.

WEATHER
Saturday: A showery afternoon in Dublin with highs of 16 degrees.

Sunday: Similar to Saturday, sunny spells mixed with showers with temperatures expected to reach 16 in Dublin.

For more go to met.ie.

Double or nothing for Cork

Limerick are just two wins away from becoming the first county to win five All-Ireland senior titles in a row.

But first they must right the wrong of Páirc Uí Chaoimh eight weeks ago when Cork came back at the death to inflict a first championship defeat on the Treaty men in eight games.

Their last defeat before that came against Clare in the 2023 Munster round-robin but ultimately it didn’t impact their season as they went on to lift the Liam MacCarthy.

Can the Rebels make this year different?

The side’s last meeting on Jones’ Road was very one-sided as Limerick won the second title of their current run back in 2021. That game was over by half-time as a brace of goals from Gearóid Hegarty had the Shannonsiders 13 up at the break.

Hurling teams: Limerick bring Sean Finn in for Barry Nash, Rob Downey returns to Cork XV and Aidan McCarthy recalled by Clare

Other than the reversal at the Páirc, Limerick have beaten Waterford, Tipperary and Clare (twice), with their Munster final victory over the Banner being more impressive than the last two years.

But that victory for Cork in May has certainly captured the public’s imagination on Leeside and Sunday’s game is looking like it will go close to selling out, with just Hill 16 tickets still available on Friday afternoon.

Merciless Limerick

Limerick are coming into their seventh All-Ireland semi-final in a row and Liam Sheedy says he’s expecting a big performance from them.

“The danger is that Cork get swallowed up and can’t get their hands on the ball,” he said on the RTÉ GAA Podcast.

“This Limerick team has a habit of doing that and they go for you in the first 10 or 15 minutes. If Cork can get through that period and get to half-time and it’s still alive, then they have a chance.

“Will they be able for what I believe will be a Limerick onslaught?”

There’s not much more that can be said about Limerick that hasn’t been said already, and Sheedy reckons that this group of players won’t get caught twice by Cork in the same season.

“Champions don’t lose that often. Certainly, they don’t have an intention of losing twice to the same opposition in the one year.”

All-Ireland semi-final history repeating itself

While Cork are back at the last-four stage for the first time in three years, the other semi-final pits Clare against Leinster champions Kilkenny for the third year in a row.

The Cats have come out on top in the last two years and they’ve been able to build momentum through 76th successful Leinster campaign, which included an early draw with Carlow.

They beat Wexford – something they failed to do in the last two years – before giving a disappointing Dublin a trimming in the provincial final. For what it’s worth, having come through the easier provincial championship, they are the only undefeated team left in the competition, managing to win Leinster without losing a game for the first time since the introduction of the round-robin format in 2018.

Liam Sheedy: Clare underperforming ahead of semi-final showdown with Kilkenny

Kilkenny have only lost to Clare once in championship, that defeat coming back in 1997 at the same stage of the competition. So the Cats, as they usually do, have history on their side.

“I think they’re severely underrated,” was Shane Dowling’s view of Derek Lyng’s side on the RTÉ GAA Podcast.

“They’re not getting the credit they deserve. It’s very rare that you would hear a Kilkenny person come out and use an external noise as a motivating factor. I’ve never heard that before.

“So it’s obviously seeped into their dressing room as well and they obviously believe they want to get some respect.”

What of Clare? They made another Munster final but they lost once more, and it was the most comprehensive of the three consecutive deciders against Limerick.

Something which might give them a bit of belief are their two Allianz League victories over Kilkenny in the spring, including in the final at Thurles.

Watch the All-Ireland Hurling Championship quarter-finals, Kilkenny v Clare (3pm on Saturday on RTÉ One) and Limerick v Cork (4pm on Sunday on RTE2). Both games available on RTE Player. Follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app and listen to commentary on RTÉ Radio 1

Listen to the RTÉ GAA Podcast on the RTÉ Radio Player, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts