One of Laragh's main objectives for 2009 was to secure promotion to Division Two of the all-county football league. However, the Stradone men came up just short, finishing fourth in the final league standings. They had come frustratingly close to a Top Two finish (which would have guaranteed promotion). Bailieboro were clear winners with 25 points from their 13 outings, but there was very little between Butlersbridge, Shannon Gaels and Laragh, who finished second, third and fourth with 20, 18 and 17 points respectively.
Laragh's record read: eight wins, one draw, four defeats. Had they managed to turn two of those defeats into wins, they would have been playing in the second flight this year. They went on to reach the Division Three decider against 'the Bridge' (losing by 1-7 to 0-3) and will hope for an improved showing in the 2010 league.
Perhaps the most encouraging aspect of the year for Laragh was the performances of the club's U21 side, which produced some scintillating displays in the Division Two championship. At this level, there were wins over Shannon Gaels and a fancied Lavey before the Orange & Whites were very unlucky to lose an evenly-contested semi-final to champions-elect Ballyhaise. With a little bit more luck and/or conviction, Laragh (the county's first-ever U21 champions back in 1975 and '76) could have gone on to take the spoils…
The Division Two U21 championship semi-final was played at St Aidan's Park, Bawnboy on Saturday November 28 and it was Ballyhaise who coped best with the bitter cold and dense fog to prevail by 3-10 to 1-10. Unfortunately, there were unsavoury scenes after the game and these (and their repercussions) will probably be remembered more than the football itself. This is a pity as the young Stradone side produced some great football over the hour. Declan King's goal got the underdogs off to a flying start and full forward Adrian Cooney chipped in with five points as they battled valiantly for a famous win, but came up just short.
Laragh Utd, 2009 U21 Division Two championship semi-finalists: Martin Smith; Ciaran O'Donohoe, Paddy King, Enda Tierney; Dallan McKenna, Liam Brady (0-1), Colm Smith; Daragh Brady, Colm McKenna; Rory Power (0-1), Paddy Rudden (0-1), Declan King (1-1); Seamus Cooney (0-1), Adrian Cooney (0-5), Gerry Murray. Subs: Declan Brady, Laurence Brady.
Reflecting on the 2009 campaign in general, newly-elected club chairman Padraic Rudden calls it as he sees it: "It was a big disappointment that we didn't get promoted. We missed out by a few points and were then badly beaten by a good Butlersbridge side in the league final. We were hoping to give them a good game but they had been playing in the Ulster junior club championship and that brought them along a bit…
"The biggest disappointment was losing the U21 championship semi-final. We had a good year and, having got to the semi-final, we felt we were favourites to win it out. Still, that team performed well and, on a positive note, the entire team that played the semi-final against Ballyhaise will be under 21 again next year. So we'll definitely be looking to give the Division Two championship a good run in 2010."
Due to the changes that have been introduced at County Board level, there will be an extra promotion slot up for grabs this year. Laragh have their eyes on the top of the table again: "We're looking forward to the season," says Padraic. "The County Board are balancing things out so that they'll have 16 teams in Division One and 14 in Divisions Two and Three. This means three teams will be promoted from Division Three, which gives us a very good chance of going up. We're looking forward to giving that a real go and hopefully hitting a top-three spot. We'll be very disappointed if we don't get promoted.
"After reaching the final last year, it would be an added bonus if we could get through to the final again and win it out. But promotion is the main aim. We played Division Three football last year with 13 U21s in the team and those lads will all be that little bit older and stronger now. It's going to be a very open division, with any one of five or six clubs in with a real chance of going up. Hopefully we'll be one of them…"
The 2009 IFC was a bit of a non-event as far as the Stradone men were concerned. "We didn't get going," the chairman concedes. "We drew with Killinkere in the first game of a three-team group and that result meant we had to win our next game to progress. We were confident going down to Cootehill to play Kill but we didn't get going and were beaten by the better team on the day. That was our championship over for the year."
Given that the league might take precedence in the months ahead, how far do Laragh hope to go in the 2010 IFC? "We'd hope to get a good run. There's certainly no intention of just going along to make up the numbers. With the young team we have, if we got a half-decent draw, anything could happen. All you have to do is look at what Lavey did last year - they were effectively out of it and they came back to win it. We'll be looking to at least reach the quarter-final stage and anything after that would be a bonus."
A new committee is in place in Laragh with some fresh new ideas that should drive the club forward. Over the past four years, a redevelopment of Duke Park has been completed, including four state-of-the-art dressing-rooms and a restaurant, which has been operational for twelve months or so. The pitch is in great nick, so it's really a matter of maintenance now. "We have the facilities and we can now concentrate on the football side of things," says Padraic, whose son Patrick was with the Cavan minors last year during the Ulster league but had to drop off due to his Leaving Cert. "Our facilities are absolutely top class, with one of the best pitches in the county, so we're in a healthy situation.
"In the years to come, I'm hoping four or five of our lads will step up to county level. We're hoping to have a few on the county U21 panel in 2011, as all bar four of this year's U21s will be available for selection again.
"We're a very young club with the likes of Colm McKenna, Enda Clarke, Darragh Brady, Seamus Cooney, Liam Brady (who's a county minor this year) and Ciaran Donohoe all on the senior team already even though most of them have two years left at U21. We have a good mix of youth and experience. We also have five or six stalwarts in there like Paul Cooney, Martin Smith, Ray Maguire and the Hand brothers who have a wealth of experience and they play a key role in bringing the younger lads along.
"Our goalkeeper Martin Smith has been asked into the county U21 panel this year and he's U21 for another two years. He's been our senior goalie for two years already and had a fantastic 2009 season. With our new committee in place and all our development work done, we're looking forward to a few good years of football now." Tweet

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