| 1981 All-Ireland Under-21 Football Championship | |
| Bodyclass: | vevent |
| Headerstyle: | background:#BFD7FF; |
| Labelstyle: | white-space: nowrap |
| Datastyle: | white-space: nowrap |
| Header1: | Championship details |
| Label2: | Dates |
| Label3: | Teams |
| Header4: | All-Ireland Champions |
| Label5: | Winning team |
| Data5: | Cork (4th win) |
| Label6: | Captain |
| Data6: | Seán Hayes |
| Label7: | Manager |
| Header8: | All-Ireland Finalists |
| Label9: | Losing team |
| Data9: | Galway |
| Label10: | Captain |
| Label11: | Manager |
| Header12: | Provincial Champions |
| Label13: | Munster |
| Data13: | Cork |
| Label14: | Leinster |
| Data14: | Louth |
| Label15: | Ulster |
| Data15: | Monaghan |
| Label16: | Connacht |
| Data16: | Galway |
The 1981 All-Ireland Under-21 Football Championship was the 18th staging of the All-Ireland Under-21 Football Championship since its establishment by the Gaelic Athletic Association in 1964.
Cork entered the championship as defending champions.
On 8 November 1981, Cork won the championship following a 2-9 to 1-6 defeat of Galway in a replay of the All-Ireland final.[1] This was their fourth All-Ireland title overall and their second in successive seasons.
Semi-finals
Finals