Image source, InphoImage caption, Cup holders Dungannon Swifts face Cliftonville in a rerun of last year's final
BySteven CrawfordBBC Sport NI- Published1 April 2026
It's all or nothing for the four remaining teams in the Irish Cup this weekend as they battle it out for a place in May's showpiece final.
Cup holders Dungannon Swifts, Cliftonville, Larne and Coleraine are the last ones standing in this season's competition with two mouth-watering semi-final ties up for decision.
Not only is the glory of winning a major piece of silverware at stake but a place in the qualifying rounds of the Conference League is also up for grabs for the eventual winners.
Windsor Park will host both last-four games - on Friday night and Saturday afternoon - with bumper crowds expected to be in attendance.
Here's all you need to know about the ties.
Who has made the final four and when are the games?
Friday, 3 April
Dungannon Swifts v Cliftonville, Windsor Park (19:45 BST)
Live on BBC iPlayer & BBC Sport NI website
Saturday, 4 April
Larne v Coleraine, Windsor Park (15:00 BST)
Live on BBC iPlayer & BBC Sport NI website
What's the recent form between the sides?
One point currently separates Dungannon Swifts and Cliftonville in the Irish Premiership table with Rodney McAree's side coming out on top in two of their previous three meetings so far this season.
A last minute penalty from Adam Glenny sealed all three points for the Swifts in their last meeting six weeks ago.
League leaders Larne face third-place Coleraine, with both sides battling it out at the top of the table all season, but Inver Reds hold the upper hand in the meetings between the sides so far this campaign, with two wins from their three meetings so far this season.
Last time, it was a comprehensive 3-0 win for Gary Haveron's side - with all the goals coming in a10-minute spell deep in the second half.
The Bannsiders though have had the edge over their opponents in the Irish Cup with three wins in a row between 2018 and 2020.
Their 2018 meeting also came in the semi-final with Oran Kearney's side going on to beat Cliftonville in the final.
How did the sides get here?
Image source, InphoImage caption, Cliftonville's Keevan Hawthorne celebrates his goal against Loughgall
Dungannon Swifts, Cliftonville and Coleraine all had relatively straightforward fifth round ties as they swept aside Ards, Dundela and Crusaders respectively without conceding a goal.
It was a little more complicated for Larne, but not from their own doing as their east Antrim derby meeting with Ballymena United was twice postponed due to the weather before Gary Haveron's side eventually went through at the third time of asking.
The sixth round was more testing for the quartet with the Reds and Swifts beating the mid-Ulster duo, Glenavon and Portadown, respectively by two goals to one.
The Inver Reds were pushed all the way by Warrenpoint Town before eventually running out 2-0 winners.
The Bannsiders needed extra time to finally see off Carrick Rangers as Matthew Shevlin's hat-trick sealed a 4-1 win at Taylors Avenue.
Rohan Ferguson was the hero for Larne in the quarter-finals, saving three penalties in the shoot-out to knockout Glentoran after an epic battle over 120 minutes at the Oval.
Coleraine avoided an upset against Limavady United, who had dumped Linfield out in the previous round, thanks to goals from Joel Cooper and Shevlin again.
Keevan Hawthorne, Shaun Leppard and Liam McStravick were all on the scoresheet as Cliftonville swept past Loughgall, who they also beat on their way to winning the competition in 2024.
McAree's Swifts kept their cup defence alive as they also eased past Championship opposition in the shape of H&W Welders thanks to goals from Steven Scott, Cahal McGinty and Kobei Moore.
What's their history in the Irish Cup?
Image source, InphoImage caption, Coleraine beat Larne in the 2018 Irish Cup semi-final on their way to winning the competition
Dungannon Swifts wrote a new chapter in the history books at Stangmore Park last season when they lifted the Irish Cup for the very first time.
The Swifts erased their penalty shootout agony from 2007's showpiece final against Linfield as they overcame Cliftonville on spot kicks to seal a famous victory for the County Tyrone side.
Rodney McAree's side showed their mettle to keep going despite Shea Kearney cancelling out John McGovern's first-half header and having to play for over an hour with 10 men after Steven Scott's dismissal.
The Reds' relationship with the Irish Cup has been a love/hate one. Jim Magilton's side ended 45 years of hurt with a 3-1 win over Linfield in the 2024 final, then came out second best last year, and now have the opportunity to reach the decider for a third season in a row.
The 2024 final will live long in the memory of the Solitude faithful especially after Ronan Hale's iconic second goal in extra time, when he ran two-thirds of the pitch to fire into an empty goal.
After winning the cup seven times between 1883 and 1909 Cliftonville had to wait another 70 years for that legendary 3-2 win over Portadown in 1979.
Coleraine fans have also had to show a lot of patience in the Irish Cup down the years with their first triumph coming against Glenavon in 1965.
The 1970s was their peak years in the competition with three wins - 1972 against Portadown, and twice against Linfield in 1975 and 1977.
Twenty-six years passed before the Bannsiders' next win in 2003 when Jody Tolan's goal stopped Glentoran winning the 'clean sweep'.
Coleraine last lifted the trophy in 2018 thanks to a 3-1 win over Cliftonville with Eoin Bradley's trophy-clinching goal setting off wild scenes of celebration including then manager Kearney haring off down the Windsor Park touchline for a massive pile-on.
Remarkably, Larne are the only side in the last four who have yet to win the Irish Cup, but they have appeared in six finals.
The most recent came back in 2021 when Jeff Hughes scored a late consolation for the Inver Reds as Shayne Lavery and Joel Cooper were on target to secure the win for Linfield at Mourneview Park.
