1981 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship
Championship details
Dates10 May – 20 September 1981
Teams33
All-Ireland Champions
Winning teamKerry (27th win)
CaptainJimmy Deenihan
ManagerMick O'Dwyer
All-Ireland Finalists
Losing teamOffaly
CaptainRichie Connor
ManagerEugene McGee
Provincial Champions
MunsterKerry
LeinsterOffaly
UlsterDown
ConnachtMayo
Championship statistics
No. matches played34
Top Scorer Matt Connor (1-31)
Player of the Year Jack O'Shea
1980
1982

The 1981 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship was the 95th staging of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, the Gaelic Athletic Association's premier inter-county Gaelic football tournament. The championship began on 10 May 1981 and ended on 20 September 1981.

Kerry entered the championship as the defending champions and were hoping to win a record-equalling fourth successive championship title.

On 20 September 1981, Kerry won the championship following a 1-12 to 0-8 defeat of Offaly in the All-Ireland final.[1] This was their 27th All-Ireland title and their fourth championship in succession.

Offaly's Matt Connor was the championship's top scorer with 1-31. Kerry's Jack O'Shea was the choice for Texaco Footballer of the Year.

Munster Championship format change

The normal system of 2 Quarter-final's and 2 Semi-final's is back.

Results

Connacht Senior Football Championship

Quarter-finals

30 May 1981 Quarter-final London 1-4 – 3-11 Mayo Emerald GAA Grounds, Ruislip
P Maher 1-3, J Keoghan 0-1. M Carney 1-2, J Burke 1-2, J McGrath 1-0, E McHale 0-3, J Lyons 0-2, J Maughan 0-2. Referee: T Cunningham (Galway)
7 June 1981 Quarter-final Galway 2-16 – 0-6 Leitrim Tuam Stadium, Tuam
G McManus 0-11, TJ Gilmore 1-2, S Joyce 1-0, B Brennan 0-2, T Naughton 0-1. F Smith 0-2, J Ward 0-1, M Quinn 0-1, J Logan 0-1, S Tighe 0-1. Referee: PJ McGrath (Mayo)

Semi-finals

14 June 1981 Semi-final Sligo 2-9 – 1-8 Roscommon Markievicz Park, Sligo
J Kearins 2-1, J Kent 0-3, M Hoey 0-3, PJ Kavanagh 0-1, J Stenson 0-1. D Earley 1-3, L Dolphin 0-2, J O'Gara 0-1, T McManus 0-1, T Donlon 0-1. Referee: P Egan (Leitrim)
21 June 1981 Semi-final Mayo 2-8 – 1-9 Galway McHale Park, Castlebar
J Bourke 1-1, J Lyons 1-0, M Carney 0-3, G Feeney 0-1, T Reilly 0-1, J McGrath 0-1, J Maughan 0-1. S Joyce 1-1, V Daly 0-2, G McManus 0-2, B Brennan 0-1, B Talty 0-1, B Joyce 0-1, TJ Gilmore 0-1. Attendance: 20,000
Referee: T. Moran (Leitrim)

Final

12 July 1981 Final Mayo 0-12 – 0-4 Sligo McHale Park, Castlebar
M Carney 0-5, WJ padden 0-2, J Maughan 0-1, J Bourke 0-1, J McGrath 0-1, T O'Malley 0-1, M O'Toole 0-1. John Kent 0-2, P Henry 0-1, E McHale 0-1. Referee: T Cunningham (Galway)

Leinster Senior Football Championship

First round

10 May 1981 First round Longford 1-10 – 3-10 Westmeath Pearse Park, Longford
B Smith 0-5, M Casey 1-0, T Sheridan 0-3, J McCormack 0-1, L Tierney 0-1. W Lowry 0-4, E Coughlan 1-0, S Hannratty 1-0, M Behan 1-0, T McCormack 0-3, F Tone 0-2, E Tynan 0-1. Attendance: 3,000
Referee: P Kavanagh (Meath)
10 May 1981 First round Kilkenny 2-4 – 2-11 Wexford Nowlan Park, Kilkenny
S Fennelly 1-1, P Lannon 1-1, J O'Donnell 0-1, J Walsh 0-1. G Howlin 2-0, E Mann 0-6, T Wright 0-3, G Byrne 0-1, J Wright 0-1. Referee: C Lally (Laois)
10 May 1981 First round Wicklow 3-11 – 1-8 Carlow Geraldine Park, Athy
T Murphy 1-3, J Lynch 1-3, D Foley 1-0, P Burke 0-3, P O'Byrne 0-1, P Baker 0-1. W Cullen 1-3, N Bambrick 0-2, D O'Connor 0-1, C Ware 0-1, M Doyle 0-1. Referee: S Aldridge (Kildare)
17 May 1981 First round Laois 5-8 – 3-8 Louth Croke Park, Dublin
E Whelan 2-2, W Brennan 1-4, D O'Loughlin 1-2, T Prendergast 1-0. K Dawe 2-4, M McDermott 1-1, E Judge 0-1, G O'Callaghan 0-1, Jim McDonnell 0-1. Attendance: 3,755
Referee: A Jordan (Dublin)

Quarter-finals

31 May 1981 Quarter-final Dublin 0-10 – 0-8 Wicklow St. Conleth's Park, Newbridge
J McCarthy 0-4, A McCaul 0-4, K Duff 0-1, PJ Buckley 0-1. P Baker 0-3, P O'Byrne 0-2, T Murphy 0-2, J Lynch 0-1. Attendance: 11,000
Referee: J Gunning (Offaly)
31 May 1981 Quarter-final Westmeath 1-9 – 1-14 Offaly Cusack Park, Mullingar
F Tone 1-4, S Hannratty 0-1, T Collins 0-1, E Tynan 0-1, W Lowry 0-1. M Connor 0-9, B Lowry 1-2, S Lowry 0-1, J Moran 0-1, M Wright 0-1. Attendance: 7000
Referee: K Campbell (Meath)
7 June 1981 Quarter-final Wexford 2-9 – 1-11 Meath Croke Park, Dublin
E Mahon 0-6, J Wright 1-0, G Howlin 1-0, G O'Connor 0-3. E Barry 0-6, L Smith 1-1, C O'Rourke 0-3, F O'Sullivan 0-1. Referee: D Guerin (Dublin)
14 June 1981 Quarter-final Laois 3-13 – 1-9 Kildare O'Connor Park, Tullamore
T Prendergast 3-3, W Brennan 0-5, E Whelan 0-3, M Moore 0-2. G Power 1-4, T Shaw 0-2, L Tompkins 0-2, M Condon 0-1. Referee: P Collins (Westmeath)

Semi-finals

28 June 1981 Semi-final Offaly 1-16 – 0-14 Wexford Croke Park, Dublin
M Connor 1-5, B Lowry 0-4, G Carroll 0-3, J Mooney 0-2, M Wright 0-1, T Connor 0-1. E Mahon 0-8, G Howlin 0-2, G O'Connor 0-2, G Byrne 0-1, S Fitzhenry 0-1. Attendance: 7,000
Referee: C Lally (Laois)
5 July 1981 Semi-final Dublin 0-11 – 2-9 Laois O'Connor Park, Tullamore
A McCaul 0-8, J Thompson 0-2, J Ronayne 0-1. T Prendergast 1-1, J Costello 1-0, W Brennan 0-3, E Whelan 0-2, D O'Loughlin 0-1, G Brown 0-1, M Moore 0-1. Attendance: 25,000
Referee: P Kavanagh (Meath)

Final

26 July 1981 Final Offaly 1-18 – 3-9 Laois Croke Park, Dublin
Brendan Lowry 1-4, Matt Connor 0-5 (0-3f), Tomas O'Connor, Pat Fitzgerald, Gerry Carroll, Sean Lowry 0-2 each, Aidan O'Halloran 0-1 Willie Brennan 1-3 (0-2f), Mick Moore 1-2, Tom Prendergast 1-1, John Costello, Eamon Whelan, Declan O'Loughlin 0-1 each Attendance: 28,398
Referee: Paddy Collins (Westmeath)

Munster Senior Football Championship

Quarter-finals

31 May 1981 Quarter-final Tipperary 0-9 – 3-14 Clare Gaelic Grounds, Limerick
B Kennedy 0-2, B Conway 0-2, M O'Riordan 0-2, H Mulhaire 0-1, G McGrath 0-1, J Dunne 0-1. G Fitzpatrick 1-4, T Tubridy 1-4, M O'Reilly 1-2, P Burke 0-2, N Normoyle 0-1, M Murray 0-1. Referee: W Fogarty (Kerry)
31 May 1981 Quarter-final Limerick 0-10 – 0-10 Waterford Gaelic Grounds, Limerick
A Moran 0-3, K Hanley 0-2, T Cummins 0-2, M Quish 0-1, F Ryan 0-1, D Fitzgerald 0-1. P White 0-4, M Horgan 0-2, R Dunford 0-1, M Hackett 0-1, T Keating 0-1, J Power 0-1.
14 June 1981 Quarter-final replay Waterford 0-10 – 1-4 Limerick Fraher Field, Dungarvan
T Casey 0-5, P White 0-3, J Kelly 0-1, T Keating 0-1. T Cummins 1-0, A Moran 0-2, D Kiely 0-1, K Hanley 0-1. Referee: M Griffin (Clare)

Semi-finals

28 June 1981 Semi-final Kerry 4-17 – 0-6 Clare Frank Sheehy Park, Listowel
E Liston 3-3, M Sheehy 0-6, J Egan 1-1, P Spillane 0-3, P Ó Sé 0-1, J O'Shea 0-1, T Spillane 0-1, O Moran 0-1. G Fitzpatrick 0-2, P McNamara 0-2, N Roche 0-1, J McGrath 0-1. Referee: P Lane (Limerick)
28 June 1981 Semi-final Waterford 0-7 – 2-18 Cork Fraher Field, Dungarvan
P White 0-3, M Kavanagh 0-2, T Casey 0-2. D Allen 0-7, J Allen 1-2, D Barron 1-0, T Dalton 0-3, F O'Mahony 0-2, C Ryan 0-1, B Lotty 0-1, D Barry 0-1, S Hayes 0-1. Referee: W Fogarty (Kerry)

Final

19 July 1981 Final Kerry 1-11 – 0-3 Cork Fitzgerald Stadium, Killarney
Mikey Sheehy 1-5 (0-2f), Pat Spillane 0-3, Jack O'Shea, Eoin Liston, John Egan 0-1 each Tom Creedon (0-1f), Dave Barry, Dinny Allen (0-1f) 0-1 each Attendance: 41,292
Referee: Paddy Collins (Westmeath)

Ulster Senior Football Championship

Preliminary round

17 May 1981 Preliminary round Monaghan 2-9 – 0-6 Tyrone St. Mary's Park, Castleblayney
E McEneaney 1-7, S McAleer 1-1, K Treanor 0-1. B Donnelly 0-2, P Ball 0-2, J Devlin 0-1, E McKenna 0-1. Referee: S McManus (Fermanagh)

Quarter-finals

24 May 1981 Quarter-final Antrim 2-13 – 2-12 Cavan Casement Park, Belfast
J Herron 1-4, K Gough 1-1, A McQuillan 0-4, D Maguire 0-3, S McGourdy 0-1. D Donohoe 2-5, M Reilly 0-1, C O'Keeffe 0-1, M Faulkner 0-1. Referee: S Murray (Monaghan)
31 May 1981 Quarter-final Armagh 2-16 – 0-13 Donegal Athletic Grounds, Armagh
B Hughes 1-1, N Marley 1-1, P Loughran 0-3, J Kernan 0-2, P Rafferty 0-2, J Loughran 0-2, C McKinstry 0-1, J Donnelly 0-1. M McHugh 0-4, S Reilly 0-3, S Bonnar 0-2, M Gallagher 0-1, C Mulgrew 0-1, S Flynn 0-1, M Carr 0-1. Referee: J Heaney (Tyrone)
7 June 1981 Quarter-final Derry 0-12 – 0-10 Fermanagh Dean McGlinchey Park, Ballinascreen
B Kelly 0-4, M Feeley 0-4, J McGrourty 0-2, T Doherty 0-1, J McAree 0-1. P McGinnitty 0-4, G McEvoy 0-3, E McPartland 0-1, P Connolly 0-1, P Courtney 0-1. Referee: S Gallagher (Donegal)
14 June 1981 Quarter-final Down 0-10 – 0-10 Monaghan Pairc Esler, Newry
B McGovern 0-7, N Toner 0-1, L Austin 0-1, D Morgan 0-1. E McEneaney 0-6, S McAleer 0-2, D Mulligan 0-1, T Moyna 0-1. Referee: J Gough (Antrim)
28 June 1981 Quarter-final replay Monaghan 1-9 – 3-4 Down St. Mary's Park, Castleblayney
K Treanor 1-1, E McEneaney 0-4. G McCarville 0-2, K Finlay 0-1, H Clerkin 0-1. B McGovern 1-0, D Morgan 1-0, J McCartan 1-0, L Austin 0-1, P O'Rourke 0-1, N Toner 0-1, A McGranaghan 0-1. Referee: J Gough (Antrim)

Semi-finals

21 June 1981 Semi-final Armagh 4-7 – 1-3 Antrim St. Mary's Park, Castleblayney
P Rafferty 1-2, S Devlin 1-0, J Kernan 1-0, C McKinstrey 1-0, B Hughes 0-2, P LOughlin 0-2, J Loughran 0-1. PJ O'Gara 1-0, D Maguire 0-2, K Gough 0-1. Referee: S Murray (Monaghan)
5 July 1981 Semi-final Down 0-12 – 0-9 Derry St. Tiernach's Park, Clones
B McGovern 0-5, G Blaney 0-2, N Toner 0-2, J McCartan 0-2, A Rogers 0-1. J McAfee 0-3, B Kelly 0-2, J McGrourty 0-1, T Doherty 0-1, M Lynch 0-1, M McFeeley 0-1. Referee: S McManus (Fermanagh)

Final

19 July 1981 Final Down 3-12 – 1-10 Armagh St. Tiernach's Park, Clones
A Rodgers 0-4, G Blaney 1-0, N King 0-1, B McCartan 0-1. P Loughran 0-5, B Hughes 1-1, C McKinstrey 0-2, P Moriarty 0-1, P Rafferty 0-1. Attendance: 25,000
Referee: J Heaney (Tyrone)

All-Ireland Senior Football Championship

Semi-finals

9 August 1981 Semi-final Mayo 1-6 - 2-19 Kerry Croke Park, Dublin
E McHale 1-0, J McGrath 0-2, J Lyons 0-1, A Garvey 0-1, M Carney 0-1, J Lyons 0-1. M Sheehy 0-6, E Liston 1-2, G Power 1-0, D Moran 0-3, J Egan 0-3, P Spillane 0-3, J O'Shea 0-1, T Doyle 0-1. Attendance: 24,631
Referee: P Collins (Westmeath)
23 August 1981 Semi-final Down 0-6 - 0-12 Offaly Croke Park, Dublin
G Blaney 0-3, Jim McCartan 0-1, N King 0-1, B Toner 0-1. M Connor 0-7, B Lowry 0-2, M Lowry 0-1, G Carroll 0-1, A O'Halloran 0-1. Attendance: 35,406
Referee: W Fogarty (Kerry)

Final

20 September 1981 Final Kerry 1-12 - 0-8 Offaly Croke Park, Dublin
M Sheehy 0-5, J O'Shea 1-0, D Moran 0-2, T Doyle 0-1, J Egan 0-1, P Ó Sé 0-1, S Walsh 0-1, G Power 0-1. M Connor 0-4, S Lowry 0-2, T O'Connor 0-1, B Lowry 0-1. Attendance: 65,898
Referee: P Collins (Westmeath)

Championship statistics

Top scorers

Overall
Rank Player County Tally Total Matches Average
1 Matt Connor Offaly 1-31 34 5 6.80
2 Mikey Sheehy Kerry 1-22 25 4 6.25
3 Tom Prendergast Laois 6-5 23 4 5.75
4 Eamonn McEneaney Monaghan 1-17 20 3 6.66
5 Eoin Liston Kerry 4-6 18 4 4.50
Single game
Rank Player County Tally Total Opposition
1 Tom Prendergast Laois 3-3 12 Kildare
Eoin Liston Kerry 3-3 12 Clare
3 Donal Donohoe Cavan 2-5 11 Antrim
Gay McManus Galway 0-11 11 Leitrim
5 Kevin Dawe Louth 2-4 10 Laois
Eamonn McEneaney Monaghan 1-7 10 Tyrone
7 Matt Connor Offaly 0-9 9 Westmeath
8 Eamonn Whelan Laois 2-2 8 Louth
Matt Connor Offaly 1-5 8 Wexford
Mikey Sheehy Kerry 1-5 8 Cork
Eddie Mahon Wexford 0-8 8 Offaly
Anto McCaul Dublin 0-8 8 Laois

Miscellaneous

  • London after six years in the Connacht championship play their games this year on home ground at Ruislip.
  • Mayo won their first Connacht title since 1969.
  • Kerry become the third team in the history of the championship to win four All-Ireland titles in-a-row. They equalled the record set by Wexford (1915-1918) and Kerry (1929-1932).

References

  1. "Minister reveals how he lost Sam in 1981". The Irish Echo. 21 December 2011. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
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