KILMACABEA footballers are on a roll right now. Winning the county junior A title is the headline-grabber, but the Kilmacs have also secured back-to-back county league promotions.

Earning promotion from Division 7 last season, their first campaign at that level, was a step forward. Now they’ve taken another big leap in the right direction, powering through Division 6.

Kilmacabea play Aghinagh in the league final this Friday in Dunmanway (8pm), with the chance to add more silverware to their growing collection.

Donie O’Donovan’s side won seven of their nine league matches and will be looking to win an eighth before their premier junior championship debut next month.

‘Getting promoted two years in a row is great,’ O’Donovan told The Southern Star.

‘It was only a few years ago we were in the Carbery league and were a long way from playing in the county leagues, a long way from Division 5.

‘We got the chance to go into Division 7 and did well the first year. Any year you get a promotion, it's great.

‘This is a bit of momentum from last year. It just keeps rolling. At the start of this year, our aim would have been to stay in the league we were in. As it began to roll along, we could see that we weren't too far away and the games just kept coming. You keep doing well in them and that's where we end up. It's very satisfying.’

Other than their 2-16 to 1-5 defeat to Cobh in April, the Kilmacs haven’t lost a league game. Inspired by the form of Damien Gore, Ian Jennings and Eamonn Shanahan, they’ve impressed throughout the campaign.

They won their last three matches to clinch a top-two spot, defeating Glenville (2-16 to 2-5), Kildorrery (3-10 to 1-11) and Dromtarriffe (4-14 to 3-16).

‘Our last two games were away. Both Kildorrery and Dromtarriffe were going for the promotion places, so to go and get two results there, that was very satisfying. You could feel a bit of momentum building,’ O’Donovan says.

Kilmacabea’s success has been helped by the return of players like Sam O’Driscoll and John Keating, as well as the emergence of young talent Mark McCarthy and Cillian Whelton.

One player who isn’t involved this season is stalwart Ruairi Hourihane, based in Galway.

‘Ruairi travelled up and down from Galway for the last few years. His life is in Galway so we understand his decision. He gave great service to the club.’

O’Donovan feels that league success can act as a springboard for the championship, like it did last season.

‘The league and the championship go hand in hand. Now, you can still do well in the championship and not do well in the league, but at the same time, it's a great platform,’ he says.

‘The teams that are on top of the leagues are generally the teams that are coming through in the championship as well.’

As for the league final against Aghinagh, O’Donovan said: ‘The real carrot is to get up to Division 5. Of course, it would be nice to lift the trophy. At the same time, we played in the league final last year and lost to Argideen Rangers. We were disappointed but when you look back on it, the trophy would have been nice at the time but the real reward is to get up to the next level.’