Galtee Rovers GAA
Encyclopedia
Galtee Rovers GAA is a Gaelic Athletic Association
club located in the village of Bansha
on the National Primary Route N24 in the shadow of the Galtee Mountains
in west County Tipperary
, Ireland
. The club, founded in 1885, represents the parish
of Bansha & Kilmoyler and enters gaelic football
and hurling
teams in the West Tipperary and Tipperary
championships. The Club grounds - Canon Hayes Park - are named in honour of the founder of Muntir na Tíre, Very Rev. John Canon Hayes, Parish Priest of Bansha & Kilmoyler (1946–57), who was patron of the Club during his pastorship. The Club pavilion is named 'The McGrath Centre' in honour of two club members, the late John & Geraldine McGrath who died on New Year's Day , 1 January 2000. John Moloney, famous referee of six All-Ireland Senior Finals, was President of the Galtee Rovers Club at the time of his death on 6 October 2006. In addition to his lasting achievements at national level in the Gaelic Athletic Association
, his greatest legacy at club level was his nurturing of the juvenile and under-age players whom he coached and organised for nearly 50 years.
Galtee Rovers is a traditional football club, however in modern times it has enjoyed a hurling renaissance from the late 1990s through the early years of the 21st century. The Club was one of the few dual (hurling and football) senior clubs for five years from 2001 to 2006. However, it lost its senior hurling status after defeat in the West Divisional and County championships in 2006. The club's main focus at senior level for the immediate future is expected to be in football, while continuing to compete in the Intermediate hurling championship. The club's endeavours in football were rewarded in 2008 when Rovers regained the County Tipperary Senior Football Championship after an interval of 27 years by defeating neighbouring Cahir, 0-7 to 0-5 in the final played at Cashel on Sunday, 26 October 2008.
Undoubtedly, the Club's greatest year of achievement in hurling and football at divisional level was in 2003, when all six major championships in West Tipperary were won, i.e., Senior Hurling & Football; Under-21(grade A) Hurling & Football and Minor (grade A) Hurling & Football. This is a unique record which is likely to stand for a considerable time as no other club in the West Tipperary Division seem to have the resources to challenge for the highest honours in all grades and in both codes for the foreseeable future.
One of the Club leaders in its formative years was Mr. John Cullinane, M.P. who was a native of Bansha and represented County Tipperary as a Nationalist member of Parliament at Westminster
from 1900 to 1918. Mr. Cullinane refereed the first All-Ireland Senior Football Final between Limerick and Louth in 1887 and was the advance agent for the GAA's first international tour to the USA in 1888, which subsequently became known as the 'American Invasion'.
Another native of the village, Thomas St. George McCarthy
(1862–1943), a police officer, was one of the Co-founders of the Gaelic Athletic Association
. He was one of the four Tipperary men who were among the seven who attended the inaugural meeting of the Association at Hayes' Hotel, Thurles on 1 November 1884. He was educated at Tipperary Grammar School
(The Abbey School), Tipperary Town where he learned the rudiments of rugby football. He moved to Dublin in 1877 and became a friend of Michael Cusack
, who had a cramming school. He was coached by Cusack for a Royal Irish Constabulary
(RIC) cadetship examination in 1882, in which he took first place. In 1881, he joined Trinity College Rugby Club and in January 1882, he played rugby
for Ireland against Wales, thus becoming Bansha's first and to date only Rugby International player. Later that year, he won a Leinster Senior Cup medal with Dublin University (Trinity) Rugby Club. It is supposed that his friendship with Michael Cusack led to his presence at the inaugural meeting of the Association. At the time, he was a District Inspector of the RIC, based in nearby Templemore. He took a less prominent part in the affairs of the Association thereafter, although he was a frequent attender at Croke Park
to where he travelled from his home in the Dublin suburb of Ranelagh
where he lived. He died in 1943 and is buried in Dean's Grange Cemetery in South Dublin, though his sister, Kathleen McCarthy, is interred in the old village graveyard in Bansha.
In the past, Thomas was often mistaken as being a native of County Kerry. This was due to his name being near identical with that of his father, George McCarthy (1832–1902), Lieutenant of the Revenue Police, County Inspector of the RIC and a Resident Magistrate
who was from County Kerry, though working in County Tipperary and residing in Bansha village, where his son was born and grew up.
Gaelic Athletic Association
The Gaelic Athletic Association is an amateur Irish and international cultural and sporting organisation focused primarily on promoting Gaelic games, which include the traditional Irish sports of hurling, camogie, Gaelic football, handball and rounders...
club located in the village of Bansha
Bansha
Bansha is a village in the barony of Clanwilliam, South Tipperary in Ireland. The village is part of the parish of "Bansha and Kilmoyler" in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly. Bansha is co-extensive with the pre-Reformation parish of Templeneiry of which the townland name of...
on the National Primary Route N24 in the shadow of the Galtee Mountains
Galtee Mountains
The Galtee Mountains or Galty Mountains are a mountain range in Munster, located in Ireland's Golden Vale across parts of counties Limerick, South Tipperary and Cork. The name "Galtee" is thought to be a corruption of the Irish "Sléibhte na gCoillte" - "Mountains of the Forests" in English,...
in west County Tipperary
County Tipperary
County Tipperary is a county of Ireland. It is located in the province of Munster and is named after the town of Tipperary. The area of the county does not have a single local authority; local government is split between two authorities. In North Tipperary, part of the Mid-West Region, local...
, Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
. The club, founded in 1885, represents the parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
of Bansha & Kilmoyler and enters gaelic football
Gaelic football
Gaelic football , commonly referred to as "football" or "Gaelic", or "Gah" is a form of football played mainly in Ireland...
and hurling
Hurling
Hurling is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic origin, administered by the Gaelic Athletic Association, and played with sticks called hurleys and a ball called a sliotar. Hurling is the national game of Ireland. The game has prehistoric origins, has been played for at least 3,000 years, and...
teams in the West Tipperary and Tipperary
Tipperary GAA
The Tipperary County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or C is one of over 30 regional executive boards throughout the world. These executive boards are known as County Boards even though some no longer correspond to the area under the jurisdiction of the counties from which their names...
championships. The Club grounds - Canon Hayes Park - are named in honour of the founder of Muntir na Tíre, Very Rev. John Canon Hayes, Parish Priest of Bansha & Kilmoyler (1946–57), who was patron of the Club during his pastorship. The Club pavilion is named 'The McGrath Centre' in honour of two club members, the late John & Geraldine McGrath who died on New Year's Day , 1 January 2000. John Moloney, famous referee of six All-Ireland Senior Finals, was President of the Galtee Rovers Club at the time of his death on 6 October 2006. In addition to his lasting achievements at national level in the Gaelic Athletic Association
Gaelic Athletic Association
The Gaelic Athletic Association is an amateur Irish and international cultural and sporting organisation focused primarily on promoting Gaelic games, which include the traditional Irish sports of hurling, camogie, Gaelic football, handball and rounders...
, his greatest legacy at club level was his nurturing of the juvenile and under-age players whom he coached and organised for nearly 50 years.
Galtee Rovers is a traditional football club, however in modern times it has enjoyed a hurling renaissance from the late 1990s through the early years of the 21st century. The Club was one of the few dual (hurling and football) senior clubs for five years from 2001 to 2006. However, it lost its senior hurling status after defeat in the West Divisional and County championships in 2006. The club's main focus at senior level for the immediate future is expected to be in football, while continuing to compete in the Intermediate hurling championship. The club's endeavours in football were rewarded in 2008 when Rovers regained the County Tipperary Senior Football Championship after an interval of 27 years by defeating neighbouring Cahir, 0-7 to 0-5 in the final played at Cashel on Sunday, 26 October 2008.
Undoubtedly, the Club's greatest year of achievement in hurling and football at divisional level was in 2003, when all six major championships in West Tipperary were won, i.e., Senior Hurling & Football; Under-21(grade A) Hurling & Football and Minor (grade A) Hurling & Football. This is a unique record which is likely to stand for a considerable time as no other club in the West Tipperary Division seem to have the resources to challenge for the highest honours in all grades and in both codes for the foreseeable future.
Football
- County Tipperary Senior Football Championship Winners: (6): 1949, 1950, 1976, 1980, 1981, 2008.
- County Tipperary Junior Football Championship Winners (1): 1946
- South Tipperary Senior Football Championship Winners (2): 1912, 1915
- West Tipperary Senior Football Championship Winners (24): 1947, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1962, 1963, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1979, 1983, 1985, 1989, 1991, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2008.
- West Tipperary Senior Football League (O'Donoghue Cup) Winners (8): 1973, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1990, 1994, 1995, 2005.
- West Tipperary Junior Football (A) Championship Winners (5): 1935, 1941, 1943, 1946, 1959.
- West Tipperary Junior Football (B) Championship Winners (2): 1997, 1998, 2007.
Hurling
- County Tipperary Intermediate Hurling Championship Winners (1): 2001.
- County Tipperary Junior Hurling Championship Winners (1): 1999.
- West Tipperary Senior Hurling Championship Winners (1): 2003
- West Tipperary Intermediate Hurling Championship Winners (4): 2000, 2001, 2008, 2009.
- West Tipperary Junior (A) Hurling Championship Winners (9): 1940, 1946, 1960, 1969, 1971, 1973, 1980, 1997, 1999.
- West Tipperary Junior (B) Hurling Championship Winners (1): 2000.
- South Tipperary Senior Hurling Championship Winners (1) : 1923
Early history
The Galtee Rovers Club was first affiliated to the Tipperary County Board of the GAA in 1885. The current parish club was preceded in earlier times by clubs who rejoiced in the names of Bansha; St. Pecaun's and Kilmoyler. The latter had the distinction of winning the South Tipperary Senior Hurling Championship in 1923.One of the Club leaders in its formative years was Mr. John Cullinane, M.P. who was a native of Bansha and represented County Tipperary as a Nationalist member of Parliament at Westminster
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
from 1900 to 1918. Mr. Cullinane refereed the first All-Ireland Senior Football Final between Limerick and Louth in 1887 and was the advance agent for the GAA's first international tour to the USA in 1888, which subsequently became known as the 'American Invasion'.
Another native of the village, Thomas St. George McCarthy
Thomas St. George McCarthy
Thomas St. George MacCarthy was an Ireland rugby union international and founder member of the Gaelic Athletic Association, being present at Hayes Hotel, Thurles, County Tipperary, Ireland at the Association's inaugural meeting on 1 November 1884....
(1862–1943), a police officer, was one of the Co-founders of the Gaelic Athletic Association
Gaelic Athletic Association
The Gaelic Athletic Association is an amateur Irish and international cultural and sporting organisation focused primarily on promoting Gaelic games, which include the traditional Irish sports of hurling, camogie, Gaelic football, handball and rounders...
. He was one of the four Tipperary men who were among the seven who attended the inaugural meeting of the Association at Hayes' Hotel, Thurles on 1 November 1884. He was educated at Tipperary Grammar School
Grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and some other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching classical languages but more recently an academically-oriented secondary school.The original purpose of mediaeval...
(The Abbey School), Tipperary Town where he learned the rudiments of rugby football. He moved to Dublin in 1877 and became a friend of Michael Cusack
Michael Cusack
Michael Cusack was an Irish teacher and founder of the Gaelic Athletic Association.-His Life:...
, who had a cramming school. He was coached by Cusack for a Royal Irish Constabulary
Royal Irish Constabulary
The armed Royal Irish Constabulary was Ireland's major police force for most of the nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries. A separate civic police force, the unarmed Dublin Metropolitan Police controlled the capital, and the cities of Derry and Belfast, originally with their own police...
(RIC) cadetship examination in 1882, in which he took first place. In 1881, he joined Trinity College Rugby Club and in January 1882, he played rugby
Rugby football
Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...
for Ireland against Wales, thus becoming Bansha's first and to date only Rugby International player. Later that year, he won a Leinster Senior Cup medal with Dublin University (Trinity) Rugby Club. It is supposed that his friendship with Michael Cusack led to his presence at the inaugural meeting of the Association. At the time, he was a District Inspector of the RIC, based in nearby Templemore. He took a less prominent part in the affairs of the Association thereafter, although he was a frequent attender at Croke Park
Croke Park
Croke Park in Dublin is the principal stadium and headquarters of the Gaelic Athletic Association , Ireland's biggest sporting organisation...
to where he travelled from his home in the Dublin suburb of Ranelagh
Ranelagh
Ranelagh is a residential area and urban village on the south side of Dublin, Ireland. It is in the postal district of Dublin 6. It is in the local government electoral area of Rathmines and the Dáil Constituency of Dublin South-East.-History:...
where he lived. He died in 1943 and is buried in Dean's Grange Cemetery in South Dublin, though his sister, Kathleen McCarthy, is interred in the old village graveyard in Bansha.
In the past, Thomas was often mistaken as being a native of County Kerry. This was due to his name being near identical with that of his father, George McCarthy (1832–1902), Lieutenant of the Revenue Police, County Inspector of the RIC and a Resident Magistrate
Resident Magistrate
A resident magistrate is a title for magistrates used in certain parts of the world, that were, or are, governed by the British. Sometimes abbreviated as RM, it refers to suitably qualified personnel - notably well versed in the law - brought into an area from outside as the local magistrate,...
who was from County Kerry, though working in County Tipperary and residing in Bansha village, where his son was born and grew up.