The 1981 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship was the 95th staging of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship, the

Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sports, amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include t ...

's premier

inter-county Inter-county, or inter county is Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) terminology which refers to competitions or matches between counties, as used in Gaelic games (differently from legal counties). The term can also be used to describe the players o ...

hurling tournament. The draw for the 1981 fixtures took place in September 1980. The championship began on 24 May 1981 and ended on 6 September 1981.

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a city in the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay, and is the sixth most populous city on ...

were the defending champions but were defeated by

Offaly County Offaly (; ga, Contae Uíbh Fhailí) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in h ...

in the final.

Westmeath "Noble above nobility" , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Westmeath.svg , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = , subdivis ...

re-entered the Leinster Championship after a three-year absence. On 6 September 1981,

won the championship following a 2–12 to 0–15 defeat of Galway in the All-Ireland final. This was their first All-Ireland title ever. Limerick's

Joe McKenna Joe McKenna (born 10 June 1951 in Shinrone, County Offaly) is an Irish former hurler who played for his local club Shinrone in Offaly and later at senior level for the Offaly county team, before transferring to South Liberties and playing ...

was the championship's top scorer with 7–12. Offaly's Pat Delaney was the choice for

Texaco Hurler of the Year The Texaco Hurler of the Year was a hurling award, created in 1958, that honoured the achievements of a hurler of outstanding excellence. The award was part of the Texaco Sportstars Awards, in which Irish sportspeople from all fields were honou ...

Teams

Results

Leinster Senior Hurling Championship The Leinster GAA Hurling Senior Championship, known simply as the Leinster Championship, is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Leinster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest inter-county hurl ...

Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final

Munster Senior Hurling Championship

Quarter-final Semi-finals Final

All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship

Quarter-final Semi-finals Final

Scoring statistics

;Top scorers overall ;Top scorers in a single game

Broadcasting

The following matches were broadcast live on television in Ireland on RTÉ.

Sources

* Corry, Eoghan, ''The GAA Book of Lists'' (Hodder Headline Ireland, 2005). * Donegan, Des, ''The Complete Handbook of Gaelic Games'' (DBA Publications Limited, 2005).

References

{{Hurling All-Irelands

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship