EXPERIENCE COUNTS

In 2024, Diarmuid Ó Mathúnas ended a 14-year wait for the Carbery junior A hurling title when defeating Ballinascarthy by 1-14 to 1-12. That experience of winning a close final stood to them this year. After 51 minutes on Sunday, they led St Mary’s by 0-14 to 0-10 and looked in control. But Mary’s hit the next three scores and by then Mathúnas could have panicked. They showed cool heads in winning various rucks late on before they found Willie Horgan in space and he slotted over a point to seal their latest Flyer Nyhan Cup success. It was a tight final but when the game was there to be won, Mathúnas had the experience to see the job through.

WINNING MOMENTUM

Having lost to Bandon’s second team in their opening group game, Pat Lucey’s team needed a response. A loss to Clonakilty in their second game would have meant elimination at the first hurdle. They won, and have built on their momentum ever since. A comfortable victory over Randal Óg was followed by wins against both 2025 finalists, Kilbree and Ballinascarthy before winning the final against a battling St Mary’s. The Carbery champions have that winning feeling, and no matter what opposition they face in the county series, it will give them confidence for the weeks ahead.

O’DONOVAN STEPS UP

When Mathúnas stars are mentioned, people usually talk about top scorer Caolán O’Donovan, captain Jeremiah Hurley or livewire corner-forward Jamie Lucey. But there were others who stepped up in their Carbery final win. Most notably man-of-the-match Kevin O’Donovan, who scored 0-3 from play and was a fantastic ball-winner around the middle of the park. He won two crucial turnovers and was a great physical presence. Pat Lucey said: ‘The big game suits him. He’s always good in the crunch games. We brought him out around the middle of the field and he came thundering into it. He was bursting through tackles and getting the scores. He set up players as well. He’s a huge player for us.’ Fellow midfielder Robbie Lucey chipped in with 0-2 as well as winning six puck-outs. Gearóid O’Donovan, Jack O’Callaghan, Ted Lordan and Conor O’Sullivan all impressed. It was a team effort that got Mathúnas over the line, rather than individual brilliance.

Tim O'Sullivan of Clash Awards presents the man-of-the-match trophy to Kevin O'Donovan. (Photo: Paddy Feen)

BREAKING BALL

Mathúnas had nine long puck-outs in the second half in their victory over St Mary’s. Impressively, they won seven of those, with Kevin O’Donovan and Robbie Lucey to the fore. From their own and St Mary’s restarts, the champions won 15 off breaking balls and nine cleanly. That showed they were able to mix it up. Every time a Mary’s man was going to pick it up, a Mathúnas player or players were straight on top of him – that intensity set the tone for their victory. Most will remember the seven scorers, and in particular Willie Horgan’s point that sealed the win, but that wouldn’t have happened without their ball-winning abilities.

COUNTY CAMPAIGN

Mathúnas were the last Carbery club to reach a county junior A hurling final when they lost to Dripsey in 2008. They will have another go at the championship when they face Whitechurch in the quarter-final. The latter defeated Na Piarsiagh’s second string in the Seandún final by the minimum, 2-17 to 2-16, on Saturday, but that was Whitechurch’s third divisional title in succession, emphasising their familiarity with the county championship. Since 2020, Carbery teams have managed just two championship wins in eight matches. Clonakilty beat Kinsale in 2020 while Ballinascarthy defeated Valley Rovers in 2022. It’s exciting for Mathúnas to prolong their season but their winning run can hopefully offer them confidence for a run in the county series.