ONE of the perks of lining out with Ballinascarthy that Aidan O’Donovan enjoys is the chance to play alongside his brother.

It’s not a situation unique to the O’Donovans, as the defending Carbery junior A hurling champions have a number of siblings in action, including Aaron and Cian Ryan, Ruairí and Colm O’Brien and Padraic, Connall and Timmy Cullinane.

That familiarity helps Bal as they aim to win their fourth junior A hurling title in six years.

‘I didn’t play for a few years after living in Dublin but one of my goals coming back was to play with Brian. I really enjoy it,’ Bal captain Aidan told The Southern Star.

‘Brian is playing well again this year. As he gets older, he gets stronger. He was excellent throughout all of last year’s championship too. If he can keep at it, that would be really important for us.’

It’s O’Donovan’s first year as captain, and he’s enjoying the role. At 32 years of age, he is one of the leaders of the Bal team along with the likes of Luke Murray, Jeremy Ryan and Cillian Cullinane.

‘It’s a great honour to get,’ he said.

‘We have a lot of leaders in our group so I’m depending on them as well.’

Ballinascarthy captain Aidan O'Donovan.

Bal are still without Seán Ryan and Tristan Walsh who are in Australia, but the club can call on Jerry O’Leary and another set of brothers Andrew and Flor McCarthy, who were ineligible during their county league Division 6 campaign.

‘We have Donnagh and Eoin O’Driscoll, Timmy Cullinane and a few lads are allowed to play with us for the championship. The McCarthy brothers and Jerry O’Leary weren’t allowed to play during the league,’ O’Donovan said.

‘When it comes to running and fitness, they are up near the top. They are driving the standards for the rest of us. We need to keep to that level. They have been a massive help this year and last year as well.’

With his brother Brian and Ciarán O’Neill commuting from Dublin, it’s a big commitment. So far, so good.

‘It’s obviously difficult for the two lads but it’s been seamless. Their performances, if anything, have gone up this year. I have no fear that come championship, both will be stepping up when we need them. Similar to what they’ve done in the last few years,’ O’Donovan explained.

All roads lead to their championship opener against Kilbrittain’s second team on Monday (3pm) in Timoleague. With St Colum’s and Dohenys also in Roinn 3, Bal will be looking to get off the mark with a win.

‘We played Kilbrittain last year and were lucky to get over the line. It’s going to be a similar challenge this year. They’re on the crest of a wave after winning the All-Ireland and that’s going right through the club,’ O’Donovan said.

‘With Colum’s, they have a load of young players coming through. They are improving big time and are going to be a big test for us. A couple of years ago against Dohenys we got out by the skin of our teeth against them on penalties. They will be a massive test. A very physical and fast side.’

After a shaky start, Bal won three of their last four county league games to finish up mid-table in Division 6 for the second season running.

‘We had a good league, especially towards the end. At the start, we didn’t have all our players and had one or two results that didn’t go our way. Towards the tail end of the league, there was a pick-up in results. We got more players back and our performances improved,’ the Bal captain said.

‘We didn’t start the way we wanted and we put ourselves under a bit of pressure. We needed to pick up a few wins at the end of the league and, thankfully, we did.

‘The more games you have, the more you get into your stride. You get your fitness up, get your hurling touch in.

‘It was a good end to the league but there is loads to improve on too,’ O’Donovan added, as a Bal team driven by family chemistry hopes to reign supreme in the south-west once more.