Oram's premier team fell short of the mark in the league and championship forums in 2008 but long-time official Carl Laverty insists the club remains in very good health. It's 1996 and Oram clubman Carl Laverty is pictured standing proud and tall alongside the club's all-conquering U21 squad. Smiles abound. Laverty is in his element. Back then he was both the joint manager of the team and club Chairman. He's still Carl "two hats" Laverty. In 2008 he acted as Treasurer and Development Officer of the club. If the truth be known, Carl has worn every hat under the sun for the betterment of the Sarsfields ever since he was Secretary of the club when he was just 17 years of age. Some gaels are inextricably identified with their particular club by those on the outside looking in, from near and far. Carl is identified as such. For the guts of the last 50 years, the popular businessman has been an everpresent at the coalface of Oram GAA affairs and he, not surprisingly, has taken 2008 in his stride. "We competed satisfactorily in the junior championship and weren't that far away from sneaking a place in the top four in the league," the Oram stalwart says in a determined fashion. "There was a good few positives about the year and we beat most of the teams at junior level, such as Aghabog who went onto win the league. "Even though we had a few injuries, we also gave Drumhowan a good run for their money in one of the league games and you saw how well they went on to do after the summer. "Unfortunately we stuttered a bit in the last few games of the league and with that went what had been a realistic chance of getting into the league semi-finals. "Injuries didn't help us at the latter end even though we did slip up a bit as regards our form and there was a bit of inconsistency there too which cost us dear at the end of the day." Off the field of play, there was plenty to warm the cockles of Carl's heart though. The opening of the club's major new social centre was a stand-out, landmark, achievement. Work commenced on its construction in 2007 work was duly completed in the embryonic months of 2008 - a credit to the hard work of a few diehards and the generosity of many. The idea for the project was hatched back a few years ago and, according to Carl, its completion gave all belonging to the greater Oram area a huge filip at an opportune time. "With little sign of silverware coming our way, the opening of the social centre was a great boost to the club and the community as a whole. "It's a centre which will be a facility for all sorts of organisations in the community to use and benefit from and is one of the best social venues in the county." Certainly Oram's spanking new asset would be the envy of many clubs with considerably more resources than the Sarsfields can boast, either in manpower or finance. A gargantuan hall which forms the core of the Centre can host a raft of activities such as engagement and 21st parties, post-funeral meals and dances and meetings. The hall also dovetails as a ready-made indoor training arena for the various club teams and, already, plans are afoot to develop a gym in an area overlooking the ballroom space. A well-stocked bar - open five nights per week - embellished by the best in upholstered furniture all adds up to the height of comfort for club members and friends alike. Appropriately, Oram's prized new addition was officially opened by current club President 'Big' Tom McBride who performed suitable tunes with his reformed Mainliners. The spirit and camaraderie inherent in the Oram club was fully manifest in the establishment of the new social centre with very many shoulders to the wheel working the oracle. "There was a lot of fundraising involved," Carl explains. "A lot of people supported our various fundraising activities and a few people gave the club large interest-free loans. "Those loans went a long way to allowing the construction of the centre to go ahead. Being able to avail of a lottery grant was very helpful too in keeping the work going. "Then there was a car draw which was helped by the generosity of local businesses who provided very welcome sponsorship which meant that quite a good profit was made." Oram gaels may not be smothered by silverware in any given year but they are never bereft of ideas, determination or ambition and going forward is the name of the game. As we go to print, plans to provide an all-weather sand pitch for use as the club's main pitch are in the pipeline which will complement the existing all-weather training pitch. Of course, rightly or wrongly, the well-being of clubs is invariably gauged by how well or otherwise their trophy cabinets are stocked by year-end. For his part, Carl - the winner of two JFC medals, a Hackett Cup gong and a Dr. Ward Cup winners medal - believes that Oram are on the right path to regaining past glories. Interestingly, Carl, a junior double winner in 1963 and the club's goalkeeper when a 'Big' Tom powered Oram side won the JFC in 1980, believes better days lie ahead. "We have a very good minor squad at the minute and hopefully a few of those lads will come through to make a good impression at junior level in the next two or three years. "The club has always had good structures at underage level and a lot of work has been going on over the years to develop the best young talent we can. "But talk to any GAA club officials from anywhere and they will tell you that they're not getting as many players graduating from underage ranks as they used to." Is it that Gaelic football doesn't quite hold the same magnetism for youngsters as it did in times past when a certain Carl Laverty was keeping goal? "I don't know. I think Gaelic football is a game which is just as attractive as it was 50 years ago and probably even more attractive in fact because of its exposure on television. "Thankfully the health of our club is good at present but numbers are always going to be tight, especially at juvenile level and you just have to make the most of what you have. "Unfortunately the Celtic Tiger largely by-passed the club as regards the development of housing locally so we haven't seen our pool of young players increase much lately." So if the proprietor of Car-L-Parts (of Monaghan and Dundalk) had a magic wand, what would he add to the jigsaw to make it as complete as possible? "There's not a lot that we need to complete the picture because there's not a lot in it in terms of the teams competing at junior level as the past season showed. "I suppose we could do with a bit more experience in the present side. There's six or seven of the current minors playing with the juniors and they could do with some old heads alongside them. "We've a good, young team at the moment and I feel confident that we can make a breakthrough sooner rather than later. "We could do with a bit of silverware because its 1998 since we last won the championship. You can't beat winning to keep spirits up at a club. "Hopefully we can bridge that gap as quickly as possible and, considering it's only a few years since we won a league title, we have still a good enough squad to come good again." Juvenile review The first of our underage teams to enter the fray was our Under 12 squad. Early wins over Currin and Blackhill showed that we had a talented squad at our disposal, although we struggled against physically stronger teams like Tyholland and Aghabog. We qualified for the Shield semi-final where we played Currin at home. We won following a very impressive display and set up a final against Blackhill. In a ding-dong tussle in Drumhowan we eventually ran out comfortable winners in a highly entertaining affair. The under 13 competition began in August and although we lost out in the semi-final to eventual winners Tyholland there were signs of improvement in our young charges. They competed particularly well against strong opposition like Ballybay and Toome. Hopes are high that we can compete for honours again next year and under 14 level. The minor team, backboned by a number of our senior panel, took to the field in April. We qualified for the semi with a series of impressive victories over Tyholland, Corduff, Blackhill and Eire Og. After a break we took the field against Doohamlet in the semi-final. In a game which will be long remembered by all present, took a late goal deep into extra time by Roy O'Neill to settle the issue and end a titanic struggle on a scoreline of Oram 1-19, Doohamlet 3-12. The final paired us with a highly-fancied Killanny outfit. We dominated for long periods but failed to translate possession into scores. Killanny, to their credit, scored heavily in the last quarter to put the game out of our reach. A late goal by Aaron Molloy set up an exciting finish but time was our enemy and Killanny ran out winners on a scoreline of 2-10 to 2-7. Sponsorship: Oram wish to thank the following who sponsored our Juvenile and minor teams in 2-8 - Carville Tools, Martin Fox & Son, Watters Electric and Dr. Berndt Dental Clinic. School Action: The highlight of the year was the participation of three of our club players on the county vocational panel which won the Ulster championship and reached the All-Ireland final only to lose out to a strong Cork team. Turlough Fitzsimons played at wing forward throughout the campaign, while Cathal Crowe and Niall Bishop were both used throughout the competition. Ryan McGuinness and Cathal Crowe have already being selected on the 2009 panel and hopes are high that both will feature prominently in the Ulster Championship. Tweet

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