Seamus Ward is chairman of Oram and has been for the last four years. Club colleagues testify that he hasn't lost any enthusiasm for the job either. Success is a hard commodity to achieve, especially when you're hardly flush with the necessary material to transport you to the elysian fields. It's to the eternal credit of everyone at the Oram club that they continue to keep faith with the kind of spirit and camaraderie which helped gain them success in times past. In 1998 the club scooped the Junior Football Championship title one year after losing the corresponding final. Oram showed their mettle then and continue to show their mettle despite suffering the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. But, club chairman Seamus Ward, for one, doesn't intend seeking out sympathy votes from anyone in the county. Oram ain't about to start feeling sorry for themselves. "We hadn't a great year but you just have to get on with it and hope that if you keep working at it, things will turn around," Seamus insists. The outgoing chairman is one of a whole host of familiar faces down Oram way who seem to be ever-present every year when the roll call of stalwarts is called out. Seamus has been part and parcel of the Oram set-up going on for three decades now but he remains as commited and as passionate about his 'vocation' as ever. He's the first to declare though that just because he's the current leader of the pack, Oram is by no means a one-man band nor is he a go-it-alone merchant. "There's as good a committee in place here as you'd get in any other club in Monaghan and I don't care what club you're talking about or the name of the club." Leave it to Seamus to talk-up the stuff at the beck and call of the club, the players at the club and the supporters. You can't fault him for not being positive. "The players gave it their full commitment over the past year - as good as I've seen - but they were unlucky in a few of the games, in the league and in the championship. "There were some games where we lost out by a point and with a bit more luck against Drumhowan we could have made it to the sem-final play-offs. "Declan McBennett and Mark Kellett did a great job with training the players and the attendances at the training were good but unfortunately things didn't happen for us. Asked to identify what pieces of the jigsaw were missing for the club's premier team in 2005, Seamus isn't sure but, being a journalist's delight, proffers a view nonetheless. "We could have done with a bit more physical strength in the team but I don't know what team in the county couldn't do with a bit more power. "There are a few fellas who are very fast but maybe are a bit small in stature which can count in the heavy going either side of the summer months." A more hands-on imput from the aforementioned McBennett might have worked the oracle in those sticky, close-quarter, exchanges? "Sure but Declan made his decision that he'd be the physical trainer in 2005 but wouldn't play with the team and we had to respect that decision. "He'd have brought power and style to the team, no doubt, and he was a fantastic player but he made it plain to us at the start of the year the direction he wanted to go." Given their mid-table league position and gritty displays in the championship, the notion that Oram weren't a million miles away from silverway finds favour with Seamus. "The team's not that far away from winning something and there weren't many teams they came up against in the past 12 months that really blew them apart "Apart from maybe Monaghan Harps, we weren't outclassed by any team. I thought they were the one really class team in junior in 2005," adds Seamus. Seamus is convinced that the gap between the very top of the pile and the Orams of this world is very bridgeable and "not very much." He maintains the team was as potent as any other team at junior level "up until we went out of the championship and even after that the lads buckled down 'till the end." The numbers game, of course, has been a perennial problem with the Armagh-border club and it really is a case each year of having to make the best of limited resources "It's a handicap every year but we're used to dealing with small numbers - I don't remember it any other way," the hard-working club officer opines. Having to make do with a junior squad of no more than 20 players at any given time gets nobody down in Oram because it's par for the course and comes with the territory. Nestling in the shadow of age-old county kingpins, Castleblayney Faughs, has hardened the souls of Oram and made them a stoical bunch beyond belief. There is a mini-population boom around Oram these times but the short-terim forecast suggests that it will be possibly five to ten years before Oram benefits directly. "We'll have to be patient, just like we've always been," Seamus says in a typically philosophically, upbeat way when quizzed on the new houses springing up in the area. "We're doing well enough at the minute at juvenile level, with good teams on hand at under 12 and under 13 levels over the last few years which is encouraging." Seamus is a long-time observer of the Monaghan junior football scene and he recognises that it will take a bevy of talented youngsters to help Oram cross the threshold. He reckons that winning league or championship silverware in Monaghan is "getting harder and harder every year and the effort needed to be put in is on the increase. "No harm to Blackhill or Currin, but years ago you might have gotten an easy game or two but not any longer - there's no easy games any more. "I think the standard of football, overall, in junior has gone up across the county and that has got to be for the betterment of Monaghan football." Any truth in the theory that maybe the aforementioned clubs have met Oram on its way down the pecking order? "We haven't slipped down the ladder and I'd be confident with the young team that's there at the minute, the future is bright and the commitment from the players is there. "The last thing we won was the junior league in 2001 and I'd love to see us grab another piece of silverware over the next couple of years. "Winning cups isn't everything but it definitely helps morale in a club and helps when you're trying to do things with the ground and the facilities." And, in that regard, the club's planned extension to it's community centre will hopefully illlict the tangible support of everyone interested in the success-starved club," says Seamus who was, coincidentally, in his debut season as chairman of Oram when the '01 league title was scooped. Certainly an improvement in the fortunes of all teams in Oram would help engender goodwill and support from the wider community. Either way we can expect Seamus to remain at the coalface whether the support, whatever the results, whatever the consequences. Why though? "I suppose it's a love of football, love for the club and just a wish to keep it going," says the father of former underage players, Hugh and Mark. "There's always something to be done and someone has to put their shoulder to the wheel and help the others who are prepared to roll up their sleeves," Seamus adds. The club chairman explains that the next sleeves-rolled-up exercise will see the club's membership seek to put in place an extension to the club's community centre. "We'd like to see the extension help bring more activity to the centre and maybe in time a bar will be put in," says the son of Oram stalwart Hugh Ward. "In the short-term, we could possibly look to holding functions, 21st birthday parties as well as indoor games like basketball. "There's a great committee in place and the club won't want for people to help out gather the funds to pay for the extension or help run the centre. "Hopefully work on the extension can begin in the New Year; the tenders are already in and everyone is determined to push ahead with it as soon as possible." Seamus, who hung up his boots in season 1982/83 - but not before winning a JFC medal in 1980 as member of the Oram panel - is very hopeful that things can return to an upward curve for Oram in the coming year, on and off the field. The likely completion of the extension by mid-summer is something to look forward to. And a possible piece of silverware in the JFL or JFC? Who knows. OUR YEAR Oram had once again a busy year at underage level fielding teams from under 8 through to minor level. The structure of underage football changed dramatically in 2005 and Oram like many other small rural clubs adapted to the changes, which saw clubs amalgamate to compete in the fifteen-a-side minor and under sixteen championships. Minor League - Oram fielded a very young side comprising mainly of fifteen and sixteen years olds and surpassed all expectations by reaching the semi-final stages only to lose out to a strong Rockcorry outfit. The squad played some excellent football along the way defeating Corduff, Doohamlet and Aughnamullen along the way. Under sixteen league - For the first time in many years an Oram squad competed at fifteen side level in the under Division two league. Working with a small panel the team narrowly lost out on a semi-final place, but more importantly competed well in every match losing narrowly on a few occasions. The players will have benefited enormously for having competed at this grade. Under fifteen - A decision taken by the Youth Board meant that no under fifteen competitions would be run in the county in 2005. Instead a blitz was run in August were we defeated Truagh and Eire Og and lost narrowly to Clontibret playing some excellent football over the day. In the autumn our squad won the Martin Connolly Cup defeating Doohamlet. This squad contains a number of outstanding prospects and with continued efforts we can be contesting for honours again at under sixteen level in 2006. Under fourteen league - The highlight of the year at all levels in 2005 for Oram was undoubtedly the performances of our under fourteen panel who reached the final for the third year in succession. The panel started the campaign with less than impressive defeats to Rockcorry and Ballybay. The boys then began to knuckle down and went on a winning run defeating Blackhill, Drumhowan and Corduff. The semi-final paired us against Rockcorry. In ideal conditions both sides played some excellent football before Oram ran out winners finishing the stronger. The final paired us against old foes Ballybay a team which the boys had meet previously in the competition. In a game, which was described by neutral onlookers as the best underage final in years, Oram staged a dramatic comeback losing by nine points at the break it looked all over. Oram dominated the second half and laid siege to the Ballybay goal we lead with time almost up only for Ballybay to score a dramatic late winning goal to break Oram hearts and send Ballybay players and supporters into scenes of wild jubilance. All concerned can feel proud of their efforts throughout the campaign. Under twelve league Our under twelve squad competed in the Magill Cup. Unfortunately due to a severe shortage of numbers our young charges struggled to compete against physically stronger opponents. A big effort is needed by the players and mentors if we are to get back being a competitive force at this grade in the near future. Under 10 fun league A large number of young new recruits attended a serious of coaching sessions and challenges games throughout the summer. All displaying boundless enthusiasm and no little skill. Amalgamations As stated earlier the Youth Board in the county encouraged club to join forces for the minor and under championships. To this end Oram, Blackhill and Toome amalgamated under the Clan na Gael banner. Preparations began in mid-February with hopes high that we could compete at the top level in Monaghan football. The minor squad played in a round robin format at first defeating Clones and St. Mary's by impressive margins. These results set up a mouth-watering clash with defending Minor champions, Castleblayney Faughs. In a game, which generated huge local interest and a large attendance the game lived up to all expectations with Clann na Gael snatching victory by eleven points to ten in an absorbing encounter, Clan na Gael later exited the competition to eventual winners St. Coleman's. The under sixteen squad which was backboned by Oram players defeated Seans before losing to a strong Monaghan Harps outfit at the quarter final stage. In the autumn our under panel joined forced with Blackhill to compete in the under thirteen league division two. The squad narrowly missed out on reaching a semi-final spot losing the decisive match in Magheracloone despite dominating for long periods. The players will have benefited greatly from this experience and both clubs would see this team as having genuine prospects of pushing for honours in 2006. Development Squads Oram players are currently featuring on the county development squads namely, Stephen McBride, Niall Bishop, Aoran Molloy, Cathal Crowe, Aaron McArdle. A great achievement for the players and their mentors in the club. All-Ireland winner Our Lady's Secondary School Castleblayney made history in 2005 when they won the Ulster and All-Ireland colleges B football title. Our own Sean Graham played on the team and has become the first man from the club to win an All-Ireland medal a tremendous achievement. Courtesy of Oram GAC Tweet

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