With a concerted effort at underage level, Oughterard are building painstakingly for the future. They claimed the county U16 Division Two football league title last year. Club chairman John Joe O'Reilly, who managed that team alongside Oliver Lee, is hoping that the 1938 Galway SFC winners can effect a return to senior football in the not-too-distant future. It's been 68 years now since Oughterard scooped their one and only Galway senior football championship. The bridge won't be gapped this year, as the club currently plies its trade at intermediate level, but great work is being done at underage level and the signs are encouraging that, with strong backing from local sponsors such as Roger Finnerty Butchers, Oughterard will be back sooner rather than later. During the 1930s, Oughterard were one of the strongest football powers in the west. They challenged regularly for major honours in Galway and took the Holy Grail in '38. Though they have hit upon hard times and faded somewhat since those heady days, there are signs of a revival. Great work has been invested in the underage section of the club and a county U16 league title last year was just reward for those efforts. At adult level, Oughterard held onto their intermediate status (though they had to dig deep to do so) for another year, so the vibes emanating from the clubhouse at present are decidedly positive ones. The club chairman has a famous GAA name - John Joe O'Reilly. John Joe reflects on the events of '05 with quite an abundance of satisfaction: "It was a successful year at underage level. We struggled at intermediate level and just about avoided relegation. But we're hoping the adult team will be stronger when some of the young lads come through. "We've been hit hard by emigration over the years and we're trying to recover from that. A lot of our better players are currently playing with Connemara Gaels in Boston! We're trying to rebuild by bringing good players through from underage level and that work is going well at the moment." At underage level, Oughterard had to literally start from scratch. With no recent record of success, they were forced to practically re-invent themselves, as the chairman notes: "We had been playing in the lower divisions of underage for a few years and had even failed to field a minor team on three or four occasions, so we had to go back to basics." Nobody was under any illusions as to the enormity of the task that lay ahead, but the underage coaches set about their work in a determined manner. The investment is paying dividends. John Joe continues: "We have been doing well at all age groups. Our U10s and U12s are getting to county finals. The U12s, managed by Noel Gibbons and Peter Harte, won the city league. Our U14s are in Division One and are one of the top three or four Feile teams in the county. We also won the U16 Division Two football league last year and should have won the championship." And there are high hopes for that U16 team again in '06: "We'll have the bulk of that team again this year and we'll be playing in Division One, which is the right place to be. We're confident they can make an impression." Oughterard also contested the West Board U21 final with a very young team in 2005, only to lose unluckily after a replay. They beat Gort, who are an emerging force in the game, in a minor Shield final, and contested a West Board minor final, only to lose by a point. For the first time in a while, the club was acknowledged with intercounty representation in '05. Both Damien O'Reilly (John Joe's son) and Martin Coady lined out for Galway City & West in the Ted Webb Cup. They reached the final of the highly-regarded U16 intercounty competition, only to lose to Mayo South West. "Our U16s were also voted Coiste Peil na nOg Team of the Month for April and received a nice set of tracksuits, sponsored by PF Sports in Tuam." The highlight of '05 was definitely the U16 league success, a victory that gave everyone associated with the club a tremendous boost. According to the chairman: "We also reached the semi-final of the championship but unfortunately were short a few lads for that game against Monivea-Abbeyknockmoy and lost by a point. "We were thrilled to win the league because it had been a decade or more since we'd won anything at underage level and maybe 20 years since we'd won a trophy at U16. The team Matthew Clancy played on reached an U16 final but were beaten." John Joe believes Oughterard can go well in Division One at U16 level this year and is confident that the club will be fielding at Division One level in minor by 2007. All in all, he is optimistic about the future: "The club was formed in 1908 and we've had many famous Galway players down through the years - the Sullivans, the Keoghs, the Clancys, Tom Finnerty and Mike Walsh. We've always given a good supply of players to the county, but unfortunately we haven't been senior since 1996. We struggled in intermediate last year and only managed to stay up with the last couple of games. "This year will be difficult again but we have to hold it together so that there's a good platform there when these young lads come through. "If we could get two or three lads through from each group, then we could have a strong first team down the line. Maybe eight or nine of the U15/U16 crop might come through. We'll keep our fingers crossed. We lost a lot of players to emigration in the past and we're doing everything in our power to rebuild a strong team. "Kilannin broke away from us in the late 1950s and are now a strong senior club. We can still improve and get stronger. There has been a lot of development in the area and a lot of new names have become associated with the club. Four or five of our lads could come into contention for Ted Webb Cup places this year, so there's no doubt we're making progress." In addition to the strides being made in player development, Oughterard have excellent facilities. They've just developed a new training field and both their pitches are fully floodlit. They also have a great clubhouse and stand, comparable to anything else in the county, and Joe is pleased to report that the club receives great support from the local business community in terms of sponsorship, including Billy Morgan from Roger Finnerty Butchers. Roger Finnerty Butchers has outlets in Oughterard, Athenry and Corbett Court, Galway city. The business was formed by Roger Finnerty in Oughterard in 1960. When Roger, who was a native of Oughterard, passed away a few years ago, his son Tommy, who had been working alongside him in the family business, took over. From there, Tommy has expanded the business to where it is today, with up to 30 staff on the payroll at peak times. Tommy Finnerty was a top player with Galway underage teams, winning a minor All-Ireland alongside Killanin neighbour Kevin Walsh in 1986. Tommy was top scorer in the All-Ireland final, scoring 2-4. He also played colleges football for St Mary's, Galway and went on to represent his county at U21 and senior levels. During the 1980s, with Tommy to the fore alongside another All-Ireland medal winner from 1976 - Kieran O'Sullivan - Oughterard were a Top Four senior club in Galway but they failed to add to the 1938 SFC success. The club has produced some great players down through the years like Dinny Sullivan, Tom Sullivan, Ned Keogh, Brian Geraghty and Mike Walsh to name a few. Billy Morgan, a native of Lisburn in County Antrim, is overall manager of the Roger Finnerty Butchers shops and runs a well-oiled machine. In true Galway style, Finnertys have recently won All-Irelands for best sausages and black and white puddings. Staff at the Oughterard shop include long-serving butchers Gerry Conneely, John McQuinn, John Donnellan and Longford man Noel O'Reilly. Finnertys supply most of the hotels and B&Bs in Galway city, Connemara and further afield. According to the club chairman: "Finnertys have always been very helpful to the local GAA club and never hesitate to provide sponsorship when asked." In conclusion, John Joe O'Reilly says: "I'm proud to be chairman of the Oughterard GAA club, coming as I do from a famous small club in Fermanagh called Teemore Shamrocks, where I was lucky enough to win two county championships in the late '70s. We are delighted to have Finnertys on board as sponsors of our teams. "We have U10s, 12s, 13s, 14s, 15s, 16s, 17s and U18s as well as U21, junior B and intermediate teams. Out ladies are combined with neighbours Killanin and have recently been promoted to senior, so we're happy that things are going well on all fronts." Tweet

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