O'Raghallaighs are so close to senior football they can almost touch it. The famous Drogheda club reached the latter stages of the IFC once more in 2007, but again fell marginally short of a return to the senior grade. Chairman PJ Moore is confident that the now 50-year-old club is on the verge of a major breakthrough. Promotion to senior football would have been the ideal way for O'Raghallaighs to mark their 50th anniversary celebrations. As things transpired, they challenged strongly once more but narrowly missed out on a place in the intermediate championship decider. Still, '07 was nonetheless a significant year, as they proved yet again that they're only one kick of a ball away from returning to the big time. O'Raghallaighs have been conspicuous at the business end of the intermediate championship for the past four years and the law of averages alone decrees that surely it's only a matter of time before they effect their long-awaited and much-deserved re-ascension to the highest echelon of Wee County club fare. In 2007, O'Raghallaighs emerged typically from their group in the IFC before recording a superb 1-9 to 0-10 quarter-final defeat of Clan na Gael at Ardee on Saturday September 1. Unfortunately, their dreams were dashed when bogey team Dreadnots inflicted a 1-13 to 3-5 semi-final defeat at Dunleer a fortnight later. Thus, it was another case of so near and yet so far. "The general feeling in the club is one of disappointment," admits chairman PJ Moore. "It's the second year in a row that we've lost a semi-final. We've been knocking on the door of the intermediate championship since losing the 2004 final to Clogherhead. In '05, we got to a quarter-final and we've now been in two semi-finals in a row, so we're not too far away. "We have a fantastic team at the moment and they just need to make that final step. Getting out of intermediate level is the hardest part because I've no doubt in my mind that this crop is good enough to handle the demands of senior football. If they get there, they can compete - but getting there is the hard part. "Five senior teams came down this year and that made the intermediate championship ultra-competitive. Bearing in mind that the competition was stronger, I think we actually moved forward in 2007. We got to another semi-final and only lost by two points to Clogherhead, who are our nemesis. But fair play to them and fair play to Dundalk Gaels for winning the final! We'd have fancied our chances if we'd got that far, but it wasn't to be." The club chairman is adamant that all the ingredients are in place for O'Raghallaighs to become a senior force again. He has the utmost faith in the players representing O'Raghallaighs these days and also pays tribute to the sterling efforts throughout 2007 of the club's juvenile committee, the 50th celebration committee and his colleagues on the executive committee. The club is in a strong position and it hasn't happened by accident: "It has been very much planned. A lot of planning originally went into restructuring the underage as we realised that we hadn't been bringing through enough quality players. We feel that we're ready to reap the rewards of that work. There's nothing in it between four or five teams in intermediate, and we are certainly one of those. So hopefully we can get the breaks and earn promotion." PJ was a first-team selector in '07 under the management of Mark O'Neill, with Char Clarke also back on board as a selector. With a great balance in the backroom, the management team is determined to step forward and build upon the tremendous development work carried out in the past by the likes of Josh Carolan and Chops Lambe. "The team has a very good age profile. The bulk of them are under 24," says PJ. At least half of the players have been taken through the club from U10 level and they've received a tremendous grounding in the game from the likes of Josh Carolan and the late Gerry Morgan, whose sudden passing early in the year cast a massive shroud of grief over O'Raghallaighs' 50th-anniversary festivities. "About eight or nine years ago we sat down and decided that we needed to grow our own players," the club chairman continues. "We've continued along those lines and O'Raghallaighs now have the strongest juvenile set-up I can ever remember. Joe Reid, Josh Carolan and Gerry Morgan, who passed away in January, kicked in the doors. Gerry did unbelievable work in the club and he is a massive loss to us. It was a real pity he wasn't around to see his U13 team, which he had brought through for six or seven years, winning the Drogheda league in 2007, under John Levins, Anthony Griffin and Tom Callan. That was a huge success as those players were whipping boys when they started out but made great progress to turn it around and win some silverware." The main thrust of the 50th anniversary celebrations ran over the weekend of September 7-9. The celebratory dinner dance was held in the Westcourt Hotel on the Saturday night and was well attended by current and former players as well as numerous members and their families. On the Sunday, two special matches were played to commemorate O'Raghallaighs' first-ever game against O'Dwyers (formerly Pioneers) of Balbriggan. The first game was a veterans' match to echo the 1957 contest, with older-stagers like club president Michael Coyle, Brendan Hand, Barry Coyle, and Paul Moore gamely taking part for the Drogheda outfit. Both clubs' current first teams then faced each other and it was fitting that the two challenges finished in draws. O'Raghallaighs are extremely grateful to their Dublin counterparts for agreeing to join in their celebrations. All in all, O'Raghallaighs are heading in the right direction: "There's a huge amount of work being invested on and off the field and the platform to go forward hasn't been better for over 30 years. The juvenile structure is very strong with up to 150 U14s training all year around. This is testament to the endeavours of Joe Reid and Anthony Griffin and the fantastic work of Gerry Morgan, who will forever be remembered in O'Raghallaighs. "Our juvenile set-up is positive and our intermediates also look good. It's now time for the players to step up and go senior. It's a tough grade to get out of but we are good enough and the players have to take what they deserve. These guys are well able to compete at senior level and it would be a shame if they never got that chance. Our aim now is to get back senior for the first time in over 30 years and to enjoy a prolonged period in the top flight. "But", the club chairman warns, "we need to do it inside the next two or three years, before the chance passes us by." Tweet

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