History of Galtee Rovers – St. Pecaun's
The Early Years
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.
The West Division
In January 1930 a meeting was held in the Golden Vale and the West Tipperary Board was created to cater for competitions in this locality. Our first success in this division was at Junior football level in 1935 captained by Davie Lyons and this success was repeated in 1946 when we went on to win our first County junior football title. The following year it was decided to re-instate the senior football competition in the West and Galtee Rovers emerged victorious over neighbours Arravale Rovers on the score 5-6 to 0-4. That West title in 1947 heralded the arrival of a wonderful era in Bansha football with the club winning 7 West championships in 8 years and contesting 3 county finals on the trot in 49, 50 and 51,with mixed fortunes, winning in '49 but losing in the boardroom, undisputed champions in '50 led by Jim O'Connor and losing in '51. 
To be successful as a senior club attention has to be paid to juvenile structures and we were fortunate to have a man of the calibre of John Moloney in our midst to ensure a continuous supply of talented players. A man before his time, John organised parish leagues, coaching sessions and trips away and before long Galtee Rovers were a force to be reckoned with at juvenile level in the county. One of our most successful juvenile teams went on to win a County under 21 title in 1975 and then brought County senior honours to the club in '76 captained by Jimmy Ferris, '80 led by the great Vincent O'Donnell and '81 with Michael Hickey at the helm. From 1976 to 1981 this outfit contested 6 county Senior football finals on the trot, a marvellous reflection on their ability and a record which compares favourably with any other era in our illustrious history.
Since then we have continued to win frequent West titles, putting together a run of 6 West wins from 1999 to 2004 at senior and under 21 level. Again the foundations of this success lay in the dedicated work of our juvenile club who nurtured a talented bunch of juveniles to win county titles at under 12 in 1992 and under 14, two years later. This team went on to win our first County minor football championship in 1998 and ten years later, many of this squad featured in our senior football team, captained by Cathal Moloney, who defeated Cahir in 2008.
Hurling
From earliest times hurling was an important tradition in the parish with the success of Kilmoyler in the South Championships mirrored by West junior hurling titles for Galtee Rovers in the forties and 1960. A notable achievement was the winning of three West Junior hurling championships between 1969 and 1973, but we had to wait until 1980 for our next title. Underage success and the emergence of another talented crop of hurlers under the management of John Quirke eventually led to a West and County junior hurling win in 1999 and this success was repeated at intermediate level two years later when Galtee Rovers – St. Pecaun's captained by Michael Foxy Grace, defeated Moyne Templetuohy in Semple Stadium to gain senior hurling status for the club.
Many of these players had won West titles at under 12 A level and had gone on to win again at under 14, 16, minor and under 21 level so the transition to senior hurling was a natural progression. Further progress in hurling was evident in 2003 when we contested the West senior hurling final and emerged victorious after a replay. This was our first West Senior Hurling title and amid scenes of great joy Willy Tarrant accepted the O'Dwyer Cup. This win was a fantastic achievement for everybody involved and was the icing on the cake in an incredible year when the club won West Senior, Under 21 and Minor titles in both hurling and football. Following relegation from senior hurling in 2006, much of our success has been in the intermediate grade where we recorded Four in a Row of West titles from 2007 to 2010.
Bord na n-Óg
A glance at our club history will show that our juveniles recorded significant success in 1951, 1965 and 1970 in juvenile football (under 15 Rural). Many of these players went on to become stalwarts of the club at senior level in later years and showed the importance of having good underage structures in place if a rural club was to be successful. In the 1960s, John Moloney came up with the parish leagues as a means of tapping in to the sporting talent throughout Bansha and Kilmoyler and the success of these leagues led on to a wonderful era of under 21 and senior football success in the 70s and early 80s.
The ongoing success of the leagues and the arrival of another fine crop of players in the 90s delivered further success with a county under 12 title in 1992 followed by under 14 wins in 1994, 1996 and 1997. Many of these players were soon to feature on the 1998 minor football team who delivered a first county minor A football championship to Galtee Rovers. While the success of a juvenile club is often measured by the number of trophies won, it is important to realise the incredible amount of energy and commitment required to run a successful club. Nowadays our club will provide coaching from under 6s upwards, with championships at under 12, under 14 and under 16 level. With the emphasis on enjoyment and participation, we now take part in football and hurling blitzes on a regular basis while our Easter and Summer Camps provide high quality coaching in a safe and enjoyable environment.
Falling numbers at underage level in recent years has led to our club fielding amalgamated teams in both hurling and football. In 2013 the Galtee/Éire Óg minor combination were crowned West minor A hurling champions while in more recent times, combinations with Emly and Golden have brought further divisional success at under 21, minor and juvenile level. The continued success of our club will depend on a continuation of the wonderful commitment and dedication of the countless volunteers who regularly give of their time and coaching skills to ensure that our young players are well equipped to wear the club jersey into the future.
Ladies Football
In 2007 our under 14 ladies football team brought the first ladies county title to Galtee Rovers – St. Pecauns when they defeated Thurles Sarsfields in a replay in New Inn. Two years later we were successful at under 12 B level and since then our ladies club has gone from strength to strength with county titles in all grades being won on a regular basis from then onwards.
The emergence of a strong adult ladies side was confirmed in 2012 when Galtee Rovers were crowned county junior C champions following their defeat of Gortnahoe. Progress continued in 2013 when this group won the county junior B final and a significant milestone was reached in 2014 when our club achieved intermediate status by defeating Templemore in extra time after a thrilling county junior A final.
The incredible work of our underage ladies' coaches continues to bear fruit with a historic under 12 A double in 2014/15 while our under 14 and under 16 ladies both delivered county titles in 2015.
Launch of Club History
In December 2010 Uachtarán Cumann Luthchleas Ghaeil, Criostóir Ó Cuana was invited by our club to launch "Watch the Short Kick Out" A history of Gaelic games in Bansha and Kilmoyler 1885 to 2010. To Seamus McCarthy, the author, we owe an immense debt of gratitude, for the time and effort he has put into this wonderful record of Gaelic activity in the parish.
This book traces 125 years of incredible athletic achievement from the Parnell era to modern times and covers our successes, failures, trials and tribulations through good times and bad. This book is a must for anybody interested in our club's history and provides marvellous detail on the great teams who have worn our club colours down through the ages.