Coleraine manager Ruaidhri Higgins hopes to guide his side to Irish Cup glory.

The man at the helm of Coleraine is no stranger to big match days that come with intense pressure.

During his time as Derry City boss, Ruaidhri Higgins experienced the ecstasy and agony of FAI Cup finals; winning in 2022 but suffering defeat two years later.

But overcoming his own personal struggles is what he says has given him a true sense of perspective as he prepares to lead Coleraine into Saturday's Irish Cup final against holders Dungannon Swifts.

Higgins' brother Kevin died suddenly in 2023 after he suffered a heart attack in his adopted home of Sweden.

His mother Mary passed away in 2025 shortly after he took up the manager's job at Coleraine following an illness.

Speaking to BBC Radio Foyle's North West Today programme, Higgins said working through his grief has brought him to a better place in his life.

"I am my own biggest critic, I look at myself in the mirror before I look at anyone else. That's just who I am.

"What I would say is that I feel like a different man now. I have come through a lot of heartache and struggle in my personal life.

"I'm in a really good place now with the help of a lot of people.

"And I feel I am a better manager for it and I am really enjoying what I am doing at Coleraine."

Read the full article here.

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Rodney McAree provides his pre-match thoughts before the big decider.

Watch as Matthew Shevlin and Lyndon Kane test their memory and see how many previous Irish Cup winners they can name.

A club from Belfast has competed in the past 11 Irish Cup finals, but this year both sides are from outside of Northern Ireland's capital.

The last time this happened was in 2014 when Glenavon beat Ballymena United for their first Irish Cup since 1997.

Belfast clubs have won over 70% of all Irish Cup finals since it began in 1881 with Linfield winning the trophy the most, 44 times.

As the Irish League continues to grow from strength to strength, both teams being from outside of Belfast shows that the competition throughout the league is growing.

Some may question if the atmosphere will be impacted, but the Swifts proved last season that they were able to bring an impressive crowd with Coleraine's fanbase consistently strong throughout the season.

Image source, Pacemaker Press

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The Irish Cup is one of the most coveted pieces of silverware in Northern Irish football.

For more than a decade, the finals of the prestigious knockout competition have been dominated by a string of Belfast clubs.

But this Saturday, the cup final lineup sees two football teams based outside of Northern Ireland's capital city for the first time since 2014.

Last year's cup champions, Dungannon Swifts, are taking on Coleraine FC in a highly anticipated match at Windsor Park on Saturday afternoon.

Read more here.

Image source, BBC NI

The biggest day in the football calendar in Northern Ireland is almost upon us as Coleraine prepare to face holders Dungannon Swifts in the Irish Cup final at Windsor Park on Saturday.

The Bannsiders are looking to win the trophy for the first time since 2018 after a strong end to the domestic campaign helped them to finish second in the table.

The Swifts, meanwhile, are aiming to retain the trophy they won for the first time in their history in last year's dramatic final.

It promises to be an intriguing encounter and ahead of the big day, BBC Sport NI looks at everything you need to know about the final.

Image source, Inpho

Dungannon beat Cliftonville in a penalty shootout to win the Irish Cup for the first time 12 months ago.

Coleraine supporters flock through the turnstiles at Grand Central Station for their big day.

In the lead up to finals, most managers will use the cliche that 'form goes out the window'.

If this is true, that will certainly benefit Dungannon more than Coleraine as both sides have had contrasting forms in recent months.

The Swifts lost their final seven Premiership games and failed to score in their past three matches.

A heavy 8-0 thrashing by Irish Premiership champions Larne in the final game of the season is likely to impact the side's confidence going into the showpiece.

Contrastingly, Coleraine scored an impressive 21 goals in their five post-split fixtures.

Image source, Pacemaker Press

It was quite the send off for Dungannon as they headed to Windsor Park earlier today.

The game will be live on BBC Two NI, BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport NI website.

Stephen Watson will be joined in studio by Linfield boss David Healy, recently appointed Portadown manager David Jeffrey and Cliftonville boss Jim Magilton.

Thomas Kane will be on commentary alongside Limavady United midfielder Philip Lowry, who won the Irish Cup six times during spells with Linfield and Crusaders.

Nicola McCarthy will be gathering reaction pitch side.

You can also listen to the game on BBC Radio Ulster and BBC Sounds.

Eric White will be in studio with Loughgall boss Darren Murphy and Colin Coates, who captained Crusaders to two Irish Cup victories.

Joel Taggart will be joined on commentary by Larne boss Gary Haveron and Liam Beckett, who won the Irish Cup as a player with Coleraine.

But make sure to keep an eye on our live text commentary as well as we keep you right up to date with the action and all the fun from today!

Hello and welcome to our live text commentary of today's Irish Cup final between holders Dungannon Swifts and Coleraine from a sunny Windsor Park.

As well as aiming to make more history and secure the Irish Cup for a second successive year, the Swifts are targeting to seal European football for next season again.

Ruaidhri Higgin's side come into the final as the Irish Premiership team in form and are unbeaten in their past nine games.

You won't miss a minute of the action with us as we will have live text commentary and in-play clips as well as live streamed coverage of the match on BBC Two NI, BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website, plus live audio on BBC Sounds and BBC Radio Ulster.

Strap in, it is set to be a good one!