Venues and dates confirmed for Irish Cup semi-finals, including derby showdown between Glentoran and Linfield

Glentoran are set to meet rivals Linfield – the two most successful teams in the competition’s history – while Larne will take on Cliftonville, who are looking to end a 45-year wait to lift the famous trophy.

The Inver Reds haven’t won the Irish Cup in their 134-year history, but have reached six finals, including when they lost 2-1 to Linfield at Mourneview Park in May 2021.

Glentoran had reportedly shown interest in having their semi-final against Linfield hosted at Ulster Rugby’s Kingspan Stadium, but instead it’s set to be staged on home turf at The Oval on Friday, March 29 (7.45pm kick-off).

Larne and Cliftonville, who face each other in a mammoth Premiership clash just days prior, will meet at Windsor Park on Saturday, March 30 (5.30pm kick-off) with both games being streamed on the BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport NI website.

Big Two foes Glentoran and Linfield last met in the Irish Cup back in January 2017 when the Blues won 2-1 after extra-time with Andy Waterworth scoring a 98th-minute winner after Curtis Allen’s opener had been cancelled out by Stephen Lowry.

The Blues went on to win the competition that season with a 3-0 final triumph over Coleraine securing David Healy’s first Irish Cup success in the Windsor Park dugout.

They’ve met four times already this season with Linfield victorious on three occasions, including knocking Glentoran out of the BetMcLean Cup, but the highlight of Warren Feeney’s tenure so far at The Oval came with a 4-0 triumph against Healy’s men in December.

Meanwhile, Cliftonville have won just one of their last seven meetings with Larne, but will be hoping history can repeat itself with the Reds facing Coleraine, who they defeated in this season’s fifth round, Portadown (quarter-final opponents), Larne and Linfield (potential final opposition) the last time they lifted the Irish Cup in 1979.