One of the highlights of the hurling calendar is almost upon us as the All-Ireland SHC takes centre stage at Croke Park for semi-final weekend.

There are two intriguing games in store as Cork face Galway on Saturday and Clare take on Limerick on Sunday at GAA headquarters.

The winners of the two games will know they are one stepper closer to lifting the Liam McCarthy Cup at the Dublin venue in just over a fortnight’s time on Sunday, 19 July.

Ahead of a big weekend of action, BBC Sport NI looks at all you need to know about the two last-four ties.

You can watch Cork v Galway on Saturday and Clare v Limerick on Sunday live on BBC iPlayer and BBC Two NI.

Saturday’s semi-final will throw in at 15:30 BST at Croke Park, with BBC coverage starting at 15:15.

Sarah Mulkerrins will be joined in studio by former Galway captain and 2017 All-Ireland winner David Burke, Kilkenny’s four-time winner Paul Murphy and Antrim’s Neil McManus.

Mark Sidebottom will provide pitchside updates with special guest Dara O Briain, while Thomas Niblock is joined on commentary by former Clare All-Ireland winning midfielder Jamesie O’Connor.

Sunday’s semi-final throws in at the later time of 16:00, with build-up to the game on the BBC starting at 15:45.

Neil McManus will once again join Sarah Mulkerrins in the studio alongside Seamus Flanagan, a five-time All-Ireland winner with Limerick and Tipperary’s three-time winner Jason Forde.

Mark Sidebottom will be back pitchside with Dara O Briain and Jamesie O’Connor, while Paul Murphy joins Thomas Niblock on commentary.

There will also be live text commentary, in-play clips, reaction and highlights of both games on the BBC Sport NI website and app.

Last year’s beaten finalists Cork are out to reach a third successive final.

The Rebels finished top of the Munster Championship table with four wins from four games.

They then fell to an agonising 2-17 to 1-21 defeat in a thrilling final against the Treaty County at Pairc Ui Chaoimh as they missed out on the provincial title.

Ben O’Connor’s side bounced back well to that loss and ruthlessly saw off Offaly 6-25 to 2-11 to win their All-Ireland quarter-final at Semple Stadium.

Galway finished second in the Leinster Championship winning four of their five games.

They suffered their sole defeat against table-toppers Dublin, but enacted revenge in the Leinster final.

The Tribesmen claimed a first provincial title since 2018 with an emphatic 4-29 to 4-15 win at Croke Park which also helped them secure their passage straight to the last four.

Clare, All-Ireland winners in 2024, have had a an inconsistent season so far, but will hope to kick into gear at the right time this weekend.

They finished third in the Munster Championship with just two wins from their four games.

The Banner County suffered a dismal 2-30 to 1-18 loss against an understrength Limerick in May and will want to atone for that defeat on Saturday.

Clare booked their place in the semi-final with a 0-29 to 0-16 All-Ireland quarter-final win over Dublin in Thurles.

Limerick are brimming with confidence after their Munster Championship title win and will be out to reach a first final since 2023.

The aforementioned win over Cork in their provincial final helped John Kiely’s side secure their passage straight through to the last four.

Speaking on the GAA Social podcast, Jason Forde a three-time Liam McCarthy Cup winner with Tipperary, said he has been impressed by Galway, but is backing Cork to reach the final.

“Galway have been steadily progressing. I think winning Leinster was a big thing for them,” Forde said.

“Micheal Donoghue has brought a lot of youth into the team which has benefitted them. They have pacy, young players who will have no fear, but if you’re going on form you’d be tipping Cork.

“They got back scoring goals with six the last day against Offaly and their forwards look to be really on it.”

Also on the GAA Social podcast, five-time Liam McCarthy winner with Limerick Seamus Flanagan believes his county will have a tougher game against Clare than many are predicting.

“Everyone is leaning towards a Limerick whitewash and I just don’t see it. These two teams bring the absolute best out of each other,” he said.

“From a Clare perspective I’d akin it to the last dance for a lot of them. It’s been so up and down. If you’re Limerick and doing analysis, what game do you pick and say here is how Clare play? When they’ve been good they’ve been so good, but when they’ve been poor they’ve been so poor.

“Clare know exactly what Limerick will bring. They know the challenge that’s ahead of them. It’s intriguing. Clare will have to go to a level we haven’t seen this year to beat Limerick.”