All Ireland Hurling Semi Final Preview

The 2025 All Ireland Hurling Championship is reaching its climax with now just 4 teams left in what has been an exciting and exhilarating year of championship hurling. The year started with 11 teams, 5 from Munster and 6 from Leinster, with Antrim being the unfortunate team relegated from the Leinster Championship next season with Kildare gaining promotion as a result of their Joe McDonagh Cup win. 4 teams now remain with a perfect split between the provinces with 2 Leinster teams in the semi final and 2 Munster teams in the semi final.

Munster champions Cork will meet Leinster side Dublin with Dublin shocking the GAA world in the quarter finals beating All Ireland favourites Limerick. Leinster champions Kilkenny will take on Munster side Tipperary in what will be another chapter in the intense rivalry between those two counties. We will analyse both these semi finals as well as giving our predictions for these huge hurling semi finals.

Cork vs Dublin

Cork have been the team to beat this season, already collecting two trophies in their bid to win the Liam McCarthy for the first time since 2005. They won the Allianz League Division 1A title, as well as winning the Munster title, after they defeated Limerick on penalties, in what was one of the games of the last decade, filled with quality and drama and needing extra time and penalties to split the two teams. Cork are filled with quality on their side with Patrick Horgan one of the best of all time and desperate to finally win the All-Ireland title, which has eluded him.

Other standout players for Cork this season include Seamus Harnedy and Shane Barrett, with the latter scoring 1-3 in the Munster final. Dublin had a mixed Leinster Championship campaign, defeating Antrim, Offaly, and Wexford but losing to Kilkenny and Galway. This meant they finished 3rd in the group and failed to reach the Leinster final. Since the knockout stages of the All-Ireland began, they have been a different team, brushing aside Kildare in the preliminary quarter finals, 3-25 to 0-13, and stunning Limerick in the quarter finals, 2-24 to 0-28. Players like Cian O’Sullivan, Ronan Hayes, and Sean Currie have all stood out for the Dubs.

Tipperary vs Kilkenny

Another chapter in the amazing hurling rivalry that is Tipperary v Kilkenny takes place in the semi-final. This will be the team's 29th Championship meeting, with Tipperary winning 15 to Kilkenny’s 12, with 1 draw. They have also met 46 times in the Allianz National League, with Kilkenny winning 21, Tipperary 22, and 3 matches ending in a draw.

The two teams are also hugely successful with 64 All Ireland titles between them, with Kilkenny winning 36th (the most) while Tipperary have 28 (3rd most). Kilkenny come into this game as Leinster champions once again and will be hoping to go one step further than last year, where they lost to Clare in the All-Ireland semi-final. Tipperary had a strong Munster campaign, only coming up short against Cork and Limerick, and brushed aside both Laois and, more surprisingly, Galway to reach this semi-final. Tipperary look back to being the strong team we expect them to be, which makes this meeting between the two rivals so intriguing.

Who will reach the final?

Now we will come to the important question, who will win these All Ireland hurling semi final clashes? Truly, you can make a case for any of the teams involved for not only winning their semi-finals but also winning the All Ireland crown. In the first semi-final between Cork and Dublin, I believe Cork just has the edge and will be too strong for Dublin, despite the latter defeating Limerick last time out. I think the other semi-final will also go the way of the Munster side, with Tipperary defeating Leinster champions Kilkenny in what is sure to be a tight encounter.

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