1980–81 All-Ireland Senior Club Hurling Championship
The 1980–81 All-Ireland Senior Club Hurling Championship was the 11th season of the All-Ireland Senior Club Hurling Championship, the Gaelic Athletic Association's premier club hurling tournament. The championship ran from 12 October 1980 to 17 May 1981.
Castlegar of Galway were the [1979-80 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship|All-Ireland Senior Club Hurling Championship|defending champions], however, they failed to qualify after being beaten in the 1980 Galway SHC. Killeedy of Limerick and Tallow of Waterford made their championship debuts.
The All-Ireland final was played at Semple Stadium in Thurles on 17 May 1981, between St Finbarr's of Cork and Ballyhale Shamrocks of Kilkenny, in what was a first championship meeting between the teams. Ballyhale Shamrocks won the match by 1–15 to 1–11 to claim a first title.
Brendan Fennelly was the championship's [|top scorer] with 1–30.
Championship statistics
Top scorers
| Rank | Player | Club | Tally | Total | Matches | Average |
| 1 | Brendan Fennelly | Ballyhale Shamrocks | 1–30 | 33 | 6 | 5.50 |
| 2 | Jackie Kilroy | Tremane | 7–06 | 27 | 3 | 9.00 |
| 3 | Liam Fennelly | Ballyhale Shamrocks | 6–06 | 24 | 6 | 4.00 |
| 4 | John Cremin | St Finbarr's | 0–20 | 20 | 5 | 4.00 |
| 5 | Charlie McCarthy | St Finbarr's | 1–16 | 19 | 4 | 4.75 |
| 5 | John Quigley | Rathnure | 0–19 | 19 | 3 | 6.33 |
| 7 | Eddie Donnelly | Ballycastle McQuillans | 3–12 | 21 | 4 | 5.25 |
| 8 | Johnny Walsh | Ardclough | 2–12 | 18 | 2 | 9.00 |
| 9 | Basil Johnson | Tremane | 2–10 | 16 | 3 | 5.33 |
| 9 | Peter Boyle | Ballycastle McQuillans | 0–16 | 16 | 3 | 5.33 |
Miscellaneous
- McQuillan's of Antrim become the first team to win three successive Ulster titles.
- Ballyhale Shamrocks win the All-Ireland title for the first time. In doing so they deny St. Finbarr's a unique double as their Gaelic footballers would later claim the All-Ireland title in that code.