Carrigtwohill look to keep benefiting from top-flight experience

When the 2022 RedFM Hurling League was used to rank clubs for the new streamlined seven-division concern coming in for 2023, Carrigtwohill did enough to secure a place in the top flight.

In that first year of the new format, the east Cork side narrowly secured survival as a record of two wins, two draws and five losses left them tied on six points with neighbours Erin’s Own – as the sides had drawn their meeting, scoring difference determined eighth and ninth places and Carrig came out on the right side of that.

A year later, they won three and drew one to finish seventh, three points clear of ninth spot; then, while 2025 saw them finish back in eighth, it was arguably misleading. Two wins and three draws meant that they had their lowest tally of defeats, while they once again had a three-point cushion between themselves and the relegated sides.

From there, they topped a tough group in the Co-op SuperStores SAHC and made the semi-finals, losing out to eventual champions Bride Rovers.

While Carrigtwohill’s 2026 league began with a three-point defeat away to Charleville on Sunday, manager Denis Walsh certainly feels there are more positives than negatives in being in the top flight.

“Since the leagues were restructured a few years ago, we’ve managed to stay in Division 1, he says.

“Most years, we're up against at least eight premier senior teams, so it's a struggle to try to stay in this division but it's something that we value and it's something that we try to do.

“It's a real challenge for our fellas, but we think it's worth it.

“Even though there are some days where you're under pressure, it's worth it for games like this.”

Carrig led for much of the first half, aided by goals from Daniel Murnane and Patrick Walsh, but having had the wind, their one-point advantage was soon removed as Charleville took control on the restart.

While the home side looked set to push clear in the closing stages, a second goal from wing-back Murnane gave Carrig hope and they were back to within one as the regulation time expired.

An equaliser couldn’t be found as Charleville tacked on two late points but Walsh found a lot to take from the outing.

“We're absolutely delighted with the second half,” he said.

“We were only a point up at half-time, having played with a gale. They're a serious team as you know, and they have a lot more done than we have – we were only back on the pitch in the last week and we’ve literally had two pitch sessions, so we've no hurling done.

“That showed on Sunday – you could see our touch was off and our handling was off. We were just rusty, but we've no hurling done because we just weren’t able to get out on the pitch.

“It’s no-one's fault at all but you could see that they have a good bit of hurling done and they’re big, strong, athletic team and they're bigger than us.

“But what I was pleased with was how we kept going in the second half against the wind, because at one stage I think we were probably six or seven points down and brought it back to a point.

“It was tough enough for the players on that pitch but we're absolutely thrilled with the effort.”

Further ahead on the horizon lies a championship group featuring Ballinhassig, Courcey Rovers and Inniscarra.

With another year of Johnny Dwyer’s coaching under them, the hope is that Carrigtwohill can build on the good showing of 2025.

Between now and then, the objective is to be competitive against higher-ranked sides in the league and, hopefully, earn enough points to ensure that they remain in the top flight.

“Absolutely,” Walsh said.

“We were here two years ago and Charleville beat us by, I don't know how many points they beat us by.

“We were very short the same day but it’s always a tough place to come. They’re a serious team, there's no doubt about it, and they gave Sars a fierce rattle last year in the championship.

“A game like this was worth more than ten training sessions.”