| Year: | 1971 |
| Dates: | 16 May - 5 September 1971 |
| Teams: | 15 |
| Team: | Tipperary |
| Titles: | 22nd |
| Captain: | Tadhg O'Connor |
| Team2: | Kilkenny |
| Munster: | Tipperary |
| Leinster: | Kilkenny |
| Poty: | Michael 'Babs' Keating |
| Topscorer: | Eddie Keher (4-43) |
| Matches: | 14 |
| Next: | 1972 |
The All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship of 1971 was the 85th staging of Ireland's premier hurling knock-out competition. Tipperary won the championship, beating Kilkenny 5–17 to 5–14 in the final at Croke Park, Dublin.
| Province | County | Most recent success | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All-Ireland | Provincial | |||
| Leinster | Dublin | 1938 | 1961 | |
| Kildare | ||||
| Kilkenny | 1969 | 1969 | ||
| Laois | 1915 | 1949 | ||
| Offaly | ||||
| Westmeath | ||||
| Wexford | 1968 | 1970 | ||
| Munster | Clare | 1914 | 1932 | |
| Cork | 1970 | 1970 | ||
| Limerick | 1940 | 1955 | ||
| Tipperary | 1965 | 1968 | ||
| Waterford | 1959 | 1963 | ||
| Connacht | Galway | 1923 | 1922 | |
| Ulster | Antrim | 1946 | ||
| Britain | London | 1901 | ||
The All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship of 1971 was run on a provincial basis as usual. It was a knockout tournament with pairings drawn at random in the respective provinces - there were no seeds.
Each match was played as a single leg. If a match was drawn there was a replay. If both sides were still level at the end of that game another replay had to take place.
Quarter-final: (1 match) This was a single match between the first two teams drawn from the province of Munster.
Semi-finals: (2 matches) The winner of the lone quarter-final joined the other three Munster teams to make up the semi-final pairings.
Final: (1 match) The winner of the two semi-finals contested this game.
First round: (1 match) This was a single match between two of the 'weaker' teams drawn from the province of Leinster.
Quarter-finals: (2 matches) The winner of the first-round game joined three other Leinster teams to make up the two quarter-final pairings.
Semi-finals: (2 matches) The winners of the two quarter-finals joined Kilkenny and Wexford, who received a bye to this stage, to make up the semi-final pairings.
Final: (1 match) The winner of the two semi-finals contested this game.
Quarter-final: (1 match) This was a single match between Antrim and Galway, two teams who faced no competition in their respective provinces.
Semi-finals: (2 matches) The winner of the lone quarter-final joined London and the Munster and Leinster champions to make up the semi-final pairings. The provincial champions were drawn in opposite semi-finals.
Final: (1 match) The winner of the two semi-finals contested this game.
First roundQuarter-finals----Semi-finals----Final----
Quarter-finalsSemi-finals----Final----
----
See also: 1971 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final.
| Rank | Player | County | Tally | Total | Matches | Average | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eddie Keher | Kilkenny | 4-43 | 55 | 4 | 13.75 | |
| 2 | Michael 'Babs' Keating | Tipperary | 6-26 | 44 | 4 | 11.00 | |
| 3 | Richie Bennis | Limerick | 2-25 | 31 | 3 | 10.33 | |
| 4 | Tommy Ring | Westmeath | 2-11 | 17 | 2 | 8.50 | |
| 5 | Francis Loughnane | Tipperary | 0-15 | 15 | 4 | 3.75 | |
| 6 | Des Coen | Galway | 3-05 | 14 | 2 | 7.00 |
| Rank | Player | County | Tally | Total | Opposition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael 'Babs' Keating | Tipperary | 2-12 | 18 | Galway |
| 2 | Eddie Keher | Kilkenny | 2-11 | 17 | Tipperary |
| 3 | Eddie Keher | Kilkenny | 0-14 | 14 | London |
| 4 | Michael 'Babs' Keating | Tipperary | 3-04 | 13 | Limerick |
| Des Coen | Galway | 3-04 | 13 | Antrim | |
| Eddie Keher | Kilkenny | 2-07 | 13 | Dublin | |
| 5 | Johnny Walsh | Kildare | 1-09 | 12 | Westmeath |
| Richie Bennis | Limerick | 0-12 | 12 | Tipperary | |
| 6 | Richie Bennis | Limerick | 1-08 | 11 | Cork |
| Eddie Keher | Kilkenny | 0-11 | 11 | Wexford |
The following players made their début in the 1971 championship:
The following players played their last game in the 1971 championship: