Croke Park hosted both All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship semi-finals on 4 and 5 July 2026, and the weekend delivered the final nobody had fully priced in.
Galway blew Cork away after half-time on Saturday, and Limerick survived a Clare penalty scare on Sunday to book a rematch of the 2018 decider. Here is what happened in both games, and what it means heading into the final on 19 July.
Galway 2-26 Cork 1-18: Tribesmen Blow Cork Away After the Break
Galway arrived as Leinster champions off the back of a 14-point final win over Dublin, having also seen off defending champions Kilkenny by 15 points in the round-robin phase. Cork, All-Ireland runners-up in 2025, came in as favourites after a 25-point quarter-final win over Offaly at Semple Stadium, but the pattern of last year’s final repeated itself: another second-half collapse.
Darragh Neary’s sixth-minute goal set the tone, and although Alan Walsh’s 24th-minute finish for Cork made it 1-13 to 1-12 in his favour at half-time, Galway outscored Cork 1-14 to 0-5 after the break.
Key players
Jason Rabbitte was named man of the match, setting up scores throughout and adding 0-3 of his own. Tom Monaghan (0-4) and Conor Whelan (0-3) were prominent, and substitute Conor Cooney struck a second Galway goal in injury time to complete an 11-point win, 2-26 to 1-18. For Cork, Brian Hayes was the game’s most dangerous forward with 0-7, and Alan Connolly added 0-4.
Injury news and discipline
Galway full-back Daithí Burke played the game with a heavily strapped knee and looked short of full fitness against Hayes. Haynes dragged him out of position repeatedly before Micheál Donoghue switched Cillian Trayers onto the Cork forward midway through the first half.
Cork’s discipline unravelled as the game went on. Damien Cahalane and Seán O’Donoghue were both booked, and captain Darragh Fitzgibbon was sent off for a second yellow card in the 55th minute after a high tackle on Ronan Glennon. The same type of challenge that had caused controversy in an earlier league meeting between the sides.
Head-to-head
Galway have now beaten Cork in six straight championship meetings, a run stretching back to 2009. Cork’s last championship win over Galway came in 2008. They beat Galway in this year’s National Hurling League, 2-20 to 1-21, but that form did not carry over to Croke Park.
Limerick 1-21 Clare 1-19: Late O’Connor Goal Settles a Classic
Limerick arrived having lost only once in the Munster round-robin, to eventual final opponents Cork. But Clare, fresh off a comfortable win over Dublin in the quarter-final, led for an hour and looked the sharper side for long spells.
Clare led 0-16 to 0-11 at half-time on the back of nearly 80 per cent shooting accuracy, and a 57th-minute Tony Kelly penalty stretched that advantage to six points, 1-19 to 0-16.
Limerick then found 1-5 without reply in the closing 13 minutes plus injury time. Aidan O’Connor’s 71st-minute goal, after out-fielding Darragh Lohan, put Limerick 1-20 to 1-19 ahead. They held on to win 1-21 to 1-19 and reach a first All-Ireland final in three years.
Key players
Aidan O’Connor finished with 1-9 (nine from frees) and scored the winning goal. Gearóid Hegarty won man of the match without registering a score, praised for his work rate and his presence as a puck-out target once his marker Conor Cleary was withdrawn. For Clare, Tony Kelly top-scored with 1-5, including the penalty, and Mark Rodgers added 0-7 from frees, but Clare managed only 1-3 in the second half.
Injury and team news
Limerick made a late change before throw-in, with Adam English replacing Cian Lynch, who was carrying a knock; Lynch was introduced from the bench in the 57th minute and played a role in the winning move. Clare’s main fitness concerns, Conor Cleary and David McInerney, were both passed fit to start.
The match also marked the final championship appearance of Clare’s Shane O’Donnell. The hero of their 2013 All-Ireland win had announced his retirement from inter-county hurling the previous week.
The game’s flashpoint came in the 55th minute, when goalkeeper Nickie Quaid brought down Peter Duggan for a clear goal-scoring chance. Referee Thomas Walsh awarded a penalty and a yellow card rather than the black card some pundits felt the offence warranted. Duggan did not have the sliotar in hand at the moment of the foul under the current rule.
Kelly converted the penalty, and the decision was debated on The Sunday Game afterwards, with pundit Anthony Daly calling for the rule to be changed.
Head-to-head
Limerick beat Clare by 15 points in this year’s Munster round-robin, but Clare had won their solitary championship meeting in 2025, Limerick’s only defeat of last year’s All-Ireland defence. This was the county’s first championship meeting at Croke Park.
What It Means for the Final
Galway and Limerick meet in the All-Ireland final at Croke Park on Sunday, 19 July, a repeat of the 2018 decider, which Limerick won. Galway will be appearing in their first final since that 2018 defeat.
Limerick, who will be chasing a sixth MacCarthy Cup since 2018, go in having won five of their last six championship meetings with Galway across this era.
Cork’s exit means the widely anticipated Cork-Limerick decider will not happen for a second successive year, and Clare’s defeat brings the curtain down on Shane O’Donnell’s inter-county career.
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