Records show that Bansha GAA Club first affiliated to the Tipperary County Board of the GAA in 1885, a year after that famous meeting in Hayes’ Hotel while Kilmoyler affiliated 2 years later.. Now Galtee Rovers – St. Pecaun’s GAA Club represents the parish of Bansha-Kilmoyler but in earlier times there were individual units playing as Bansha, Kilmoyler and St. Pecauns. One of our earliest leaders was John Cullinane who resided in the village of Bansha and represented Tipperary as MP in Westminster from 1900 to 1918. Mr Cullinane had the distinction of refereeing the first All-Ireland football final in 1887 and was advance agent for the GAA’s first international tour, the “American Invasion” of 1888. Another Bansha man, a policeman named Thomas St. George McCarthy is believed to have been in attendance in Thurles that fateful day in 1884 possibly because of his friendship with Michael Cusack. Bansha was identified as a suitable venue for Gaelic Games as early as 1887 when Limerick and Kilkenny contested an All-Ireland Quarter final in football refereed by Mr Cullinane.
After the foundation of the South Board in 1907, Bansha were crowned South champions in senior football in 1912, captained by Jack Kennedy and also in 1915 led by Jim Quinn, while Ned Crowley’s Kilmoyler became South Hurling Champions in 1923 and contested a county final against a Toomevara Greyhounds selection. In an era of divisional teams it was quite an achievement for Mick Barry and John Merrick to bring County Junior medals to Bansha –Kilmoyler in 1928 playing on South Tipperary Teams.
In their Centenary Celebrations the South Board commemorated the memory of Tommy Ryan, a member of the illustrious Ryan Family of Dromline, who served as Secretary of the South Board until his untimely death. Tommy’s brother Sean worked in a legal practice in Dublin and went on to become President of the Gaelic Athletic Association from 1928-32.
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