1981 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship
| Championship details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 24 May – 6 September 1981 | 
| Teams | 13 | 
| All-Ireland champions | |
| Winning team | Offaly (1st win) | 
| Captain | Pádraig Horan | 
| Manager | Dermot Healy | 
| All-Ireland Finalists | |
| Losing team | Galway | 
| Captain | Seán Silke | 
| Manager | Cyril Farrell | 
| Provincial champions | |
| Munster | Limerick | 
| Leinster | Offaly | 
| Ulster | Not Played | 
| Connacht | Not Played | 
| Championship statistics | |
| No. matches played | 14 | 
| Goals total | 67 (4.78 per game) | 
| Points total | 381 (27.21 per game) | 
| Top Scorer | Joe McKenna (7–12) | 
| Player of the Year | Pat Delaney | 
| All-Star Team | See here | 
← 1980   1982 →   | |
The 1981 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship was the 95th staging of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship, the Gaelic Athletic Association's premier inter-county 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 were the defending champions but were defeated by Offaly in the final. Westmeath re-entered the Leinster Championship after a three-year absence.
On 6 September 1981, Offaly 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 was the championship's top scorer with 7–12. Offaly's Pat Delaney was the choice for Texaco Hurler of the Year.