DIARMUID Ó Mathúnas’ rise has taken them to Division 6 of the county league – and the aim is to stay there, insists coach Pat Lucey.

Playing in the county league for the first time last year, Mathúnas earned promotion from Division 7. They have won one of their opening three games this campaign, and while raising standards is difficult, the Castletownkenneigh club are content with their progress.

‘It is a big challenge. With nine other teams in it, four of them are at intermediate A level, which is two grades above us. There are two in premier junior as well. It’s a big ask to compete but it’s a great league to be in,’ Lucey told The Southern Star.

‘The long and short of it is you need to win three games to stay up, which will be a big ask for us. We are up for the fight. Simple as that.’

On the opening day, Mathúnas competed well away to intermediate A outfit Aghada but fell short, 4-19 to 3-14. An encouraging win against Erin’s Own followed (1-16 to 0-14) before a disappointing home defeat to Killavullen (1-17 to 2-11).

With a home West Cork derby against Argideen Rangers this Saturday (2pm), another win would be a boost in their bid to retain Division 6 status.

‘We had two tough games at the start. Aghada beat us by eight points and were a good bit better than us. We played well enough but they were better,’ Lucey said.

‘We played very well away to Erin’s Own. I don’t know if they were missing a few or not but that was a big win for us.

‘Our last game against Killavullen was played in unbelievably bad conditions. The most disappointing thing was we were missing two or three lads. In those games, you’d want to have a strong team out. Having said that, you want to be strong every day. We weren’t that day.

‘There is no easy game in it but we’re in the mix. We may as well fight for survival now. Argideen will be a tough game because they’re going really well. There is nothing easy after that either. We have Mayfield and Ballinascarthy away. We have to play Kinsale and Ballygiblin, who are flying too. It’s going to be a big ask to stay in the league but we are definitely up for the fight.’

Key performers from their Carbery junior A hurling success in 2024 remain central, with Caolan O’Donovan hitting 0-17 in his last two games, while Jamie Lucey has scored 3-3.

Kevin O’Donovan, Willie Horgan and Gearóid O’Donovan add valuable know-how, while Conor O’Sullivan and James Fleming are also contributing.

The more options they have, the stronger the squad can become, and the Mathúnas management recognise this.

‘Nobody retired for a simple reason – we can’t afford for them to. We have one young fella who has come up this year, James O’Sullivan. The county league is seen as a grade above junior, so James can’t play in it. He can play in the Carbery championship though.

‘We find it hard that we can’t use him and we’d want him to play away. If we were in Carbery, he’d be able to play. We have the same group of lads. Some of them are getting on in age but, in fairness to them, they said they’d play on this year until we get a few more through,’ Lucey explained.

The club won their first Carbery crown in 14 years in 2024 but fell at the semi-final stage to fellow Division 6 side Ballinascarthy in 2025.

Staying up in the league may be the immediate priority, but they also have their sights set on regaining the Flyer Nyhan Cup in 2026.

‘When you set out at the start of the year, championship is your goal. It may not always work out but hopefully it will. Injuries would be a worry if we get any. Our panel is so tight. If we are missing one or two, it’s a blow to us,’ the Mathúnas coach said.

‘We want to improve on last year’s performance. We want to drive on. Playing in the county league will hopefully help us, but we need to prove that again when the championship comes around.

‘There wasn’t much between ourselves and Ballinascarthy last year and they went on to win it. They got a couple of late scores to clinch it and had a stronger panel. They were able to call on better options from the bench. That’s what got them over the line. There isn’t much between any of the teams in Carbery, so we’ll need everyone to have a real go at it again.’