THE blue and yellow flags are still flying in Castletownkenneigh and Coppeen – a sure sign that Diarmuid Ó Mathúna’s great season isn’t over yet.

In fact, Pat Lucey reckons there are more flags out now than there were for the club’s Carbery Junior A hurling final success almost a month ago. But there’s a reason why.

Excitement is building for Mathúnas as they face Donoughmore in the Co-Op Superstores Cork Junior A Hurling Championship semi-final on Sunday (2pm) in Páirc Uí Rinn.

Mathúnas became the first Carbery club since Ballinascarthy in 2022 to win a game in the county championship when they defeated Whitechurch 6-20 to 4-18 after extra time in an epic quarter-final at Páirc Uí Rinn.

For the club itself, it was their first county championship victory since 2008. They made it to the final that year. An omen perhaps?

Their most recent win was their sixth on the bounce. With every victory, the players can feel momentum mounting. The supporters can too.

‘There are actually more flags and bunting up now than there were for the West Cork final. It’s brilliant. No matter where you go, if it’s the shop or anywhere, there is all hurling talk, which is great,’ Mathúnas boss Pat Lucey explained.

‘It’s something that the club craved. To see the support in Páirc Uí Rinn the last day was fantastic. Even the fans waited for the players when they came out of the dressing rooms afterwards. It was brilliant to see. We don't see days like that too often.

‘We don’t know much about Donoughmore. Seemingly, they’re very young and fit. That’ll be a big test for us and they’ll probably be on a massive high as well after winning their first title. We didn’t get to see them as the games were clashing at the same time.

‘It’s a massive week for us. We’re under no illusions about what’s ahead of us but if we bring our A-game, we’ll take a bit of beating.’

Diarmuid Ó Mathúna's manager Pat Lucey.

Lucey wanted his side to do themselves justice in the county championship after they fell to Ballinora in 2024.

With the club competing in both codes at that time, fatigue eventually told. This year, they showed there is talent in this Mathúnas side and emphasised it against Whitechurch.

‘It’s well documented that the Carbery clubs don’t do well in this competition. We did it for Carbery in some ways, but it was a really personal thing that we needed to get over the line,’ the Mathúnas boss said.

‘We felt we let ourselves down against Ballinora two years ago. I know they were stronger than us but we wanted to lay down a marker that we’re not so bad either. I think we did the last day.

‘It was great for Carbery hurling but even more important for us as a club to get the win. In 2024, we had four massive games over four weeks, which probably took its toll on us.

‘We thought we didn’t do ourselves justice against Ballinora. We had drawn the hurling final. The following weekend, we had the football final. The weekend after we had the hurling replay and then Ballinora the following week. Our legs and energy were gone because they were all the same players.

‘It meant a lot to us to get over the line this time.’

A telling factor for the Carbery champions right now is that they are finding ways to win. Even when Ballinascarthy and St Mary’s gave them a scare in Carbery or when Whitechurch led heading into the closing stage of normal time, Mathúnas found a way to win. They never give up. That is a key characteristic to have and could be vital this weekend.

‘When you’re winning games, it’s a huge plus,’ Lucey said.

‘Even to get to extra time, it was massive to draw it in normal time. When we got to extra time and got the first goal, it gave us energy and it galvanised us again. We drove on. Fellas were tired at the time, but it was like they found another gear once we got the goal. The energy that it brought was massive.

‘I could see the buzz in the lads when they got to play in Páirc Uí Rinn. If we could get over Donoughmore, the thought of playing in Páirc Uí Chaoimh in a county final would be massive for the lads.

‘The last day, I saw fans after the match there that I hadn’t seen for years. When you’re winning games, you have fierce support. We outnumbered Whitechurch two or three to one last week and they’re effectively a city club. It just showed the momentum that is building in the locality.’

Of course, the individual quality is evident as well.

Caolán O’Donovan is still scoring heavily for the West Cork club, while Carbery final man-of-the-match Kevin O’Donovan and county quarter-final hat-trick hero Jamie Lucey are standing up tall too.

It’s not just those who contribute to the scoreboard though.

‘When the big games come, Kevin comes. In fairness to Caolán and Jamie too, they really stepped up on the last day. You’re always talking about the scorers but, bar the last day when we conceded four goals, all year we’ve been conceding very little at the back.

‘Our backs have been to the fore. We let in a few soft goals the last day which we weren’t happy with. We are putting in great team performances and we are thrilled with it,’ Lucey concluded, as Mathúnas are one step closer to a county final - with more flags going up.