| League: | 1980–81 National Hurling League |
| Dates: | 12 October 1980 – 3 May 1981 |
| Team1: | Cork |
| Captain1: | Dónal O'Grady |
| Manager1: | Gerald McCarthy |
| Titles: | 12th |
| Team2: | Offaly |
| Captain2: | Pádraig Horan |
| Manager2: | Dermot Healy |
| Previous: | 1979–80 |
| Next: | 1981–82 |
The 1980–81 National Hurling League was the 50th season of the National Hurling League (NHL), an annual hurling competition for the GAA county teams.[1] [2] It was won by .[3]
The National Hurling League's top division was divided into two groups - 1A and 1B. The top two teams in Division 1A advance to the semi-finals. The third- and fourth-placed teams in 1A, as well as the top two from 1B, play in the quarter-finals.
| width=20 | Pos | width=150 | Team | width=20 | Pld | width=20 | W | width=20 | D | width=20 | L | width=20 | Pts | width=250 | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cork | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 11 | Division 1 champions | ||||||||
| 2 | Offaly | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 9 | Division 1 runners-up | ||||||||
| 3 | Tipperary | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | |||||||||
| 4 | Waterford | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 5 | |||||||||
| 5 | Galway | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 5 | |||||||||
| 6 | Wexford | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 5 | Relegated to Division 1B | ||||||||
| 7 | Limerick | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1 | Relegated to Division 1B |
| width=20 | Pos | width=150 | Team | width=20 | Pld | width=20 | W | width=20 | D | width=20 | L | width=20 | Pts | width=250 | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Clare | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 11 | Promoted to Division 1A | ||||||||
| 2 | Laois | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 11 | Promoted to Division 1A | ||||||||
| 3 | Kilkenny | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 9 | |||||||||
| 4 | Westmeath | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 5 | |||||||||
| 5 | Dublin | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 5 | |||||||||
| 6 | Antrim | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | |||||||||
| 7 | Kerry | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1 |
Play-offs
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
Final
| Rank | Player | Team | Tally | Total | Matches | Average | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ned Buggy | Wexford | 5-26 | 41 | 6 | 6.83 | |
| 2 | Séamus Bourke | Tipperary | 7-19 | 40 | 7 | 5.71 | |
| 3 | Éamonn Cregan | Limerick | 6-17 | 35 | 5 | 7.00 | |
| 4 | Tom Casey | Waterford | 3-25 | 34 | 6 | 5.66 | |
| 5 | Pádraig Horan | Offaly | 4-21 | 33 | 8 | 4.12 |
| Rank | Player | Team | Tally | Total | Opposition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Séamus Bourke | Tipperary | 3-04 | 13 | Galway |
| 2 | Tom Casey | Waterford | 1-09 | 12 | Limerick |
| 3 | Éamonn Cregan | Limerick | 2-05 | 11 | Wexford |
| 4 | John Stone | Tipperary | 3-01 | 10 | Waterford |
| Ned Buggy | Wexford | 1-07 | 10 | Tipperary | |
| 6 | Joe McKenna | Limerick | 2-03 | 9 | Offaly |
| Pat Fox | Tipperary | 2-03 | 9 | Laois | |
| Séamus Bourke | Tipperary | 2-03 | 9 | Wexford | |
| Ned Buggy | Wexford | 1-06 | 9 | Galway | |
| Tom Casey | Waterford | 1-06 | 9 | Clare | |
| Pat Morey | Clare | 0-09 | 9 | Westmeath |
| width=20 | Pos | width=150 | Team | width=20 | Pld | width=20 | W | width=20 | D | width=20 | L | width=20 | Pts | width=250 | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carlow | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 10 | Division 2 champions | ||||||||
| 2 | Dowm | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 8 | |||||||||
| 3 | Kildare | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 8 | |||||||||
| 4 | Roscommon | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 6 | |||||||||
| 5 | Wicklow | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 4 | |||||||||
| 6 | Meath | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 4 | |||||||||
| 7 | Armagh | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 4 |