1981 Kerry Senior Football Championship

1981 Kerry Senior Football Championship
Dates	13 June - 27 September 1981
Teams	16
Champions	South Kerry (4th title); Paudie Sheahan (captain)
Runners-up	Austin Stacks; Teddy Brick (captain)
Tournament statistics
Matches played	16
Goals scored	28 (1.75 per match)
Points scored	237 (14.81 per match)
← 1980 (Previous)	(Next) 1982 →

The 1981 Kerry Senior Football Championship was the 81st staging of the Kerry Senior Football Championship since its establishment by the Kerry County Board in 1889.^[1] The championship ran from 13 June to 27 September 1981.

Feale Rangers entered the championship as the defending champions, however, they were beaten by Austin Stacks in the semi-finals.^[2]^[3]

The final was played on 27 September 1981 at Austin Stack Park in Tralee, between South Kerry and Austin Stacks, in what was their first ever meeting in the final. South Kerry won the match by 1-12 to 0-11 to claim their fourth championship title overall and a first title in 23 years.^[4]

Results

First round

13 June 1981 First round

Spa-Glenflesk

0-08 - 0-03

Na Fianna

Spa Grounds

14 June 1981 First round

Castleisland Desmonds

2-09 - 0-05

Kenmare

Currow Grounds

14 June 1981 First round

Laune Rangers

2-08 - 0-04

Eoin Rua

FitzGerald Stadium

14 June 1981 First round

Kerins O'Rahilly's

1-07 - 1-03

Killarney

FitzGerald Stadium

21 June 1981 First round

St. Brendan's

1-04 - 0-06

John Mitchels

Austin Stack Park

Second round

5 July 1981 Second round	Kerins O'Rahilly's	1-09 - 1-07	Spa-Glenflesk	J. P. O'Sullivan Park
	S Walsh 0-4, N Kelter 1-0, D Keane 0-2, N O'Sullivan 0-1, S Kissane 0-1, M Griffin 0-1.		S Cronin 1-0, P Cronin 0-3, T Regan 0-1, J O'Donoghue 0-1, S Kelleher 0-1, J McCarthy 0-1.

5 July 1981 Second round	Castleisland Desmonds	2-03 - 0-09	West Kerry	Austin Stack Park
	M O'Connor 2-1, E O'Connor 0-1, D O'Connor 0-1.		T Doyle 0-7, D Higgins 0-2.

15 August 1981 Second round	Laune Rangers	3-05 - 1-09	St. Brendan's	Austin Stack Park
	J Griffin 1-1, J O'Dwyer 1-0, MF O'Shea 0-1, A Shannon 0-1, P Prendeville 0-1, F Russell 0-1.		M Ferris 1-1, P Crowley 0-2, P Flaherty 0-1, P Dowling 0-1, T Mahony 0-1, B Courtney 0-1, P McCarthy 0-1, J Connell 0-1.

16 August 1981 Second round replay	Castleisland Desmonds	3-06 - 0-08	West Kerry	Austin Stack Park
	M O'Connor 2-2, P Horan 1-2, D Buckley 0-1, D O'Connor 0-1.		J Doyle 0-3, T Sheehy 0-1, J Healy 0-1, T Doyle 0-1, P O'Shea 0-1, V O'Connor 0-1.

Quarter-finals

15 August 1981 Quarter-final	Austin Stacks	1-06 - 1-04	Feale Rangers	Finuge Grounds
	M Sheehy 0-4, J Power 1-0, JL McElligott 0-1, L Kerins 0-1.		R Bunyan 1-4.

16 August 1981 Quarter-final	Shannon Rangers	1-15 - 1-08	Mid Kerry	Stack Park
	L Horgan 1-1, E Liston 0-4, J Costello 0-3, J Walsh 0-3, J Kennedy 0-1, D Moran 0-1, T Dee 0-1, S Liston 0-1.		M O'Shea 0-4, D O'Sullivan 1-0, P Lynch 0-2, P Sheehan 0-2.

22 August 1981 Quarter-final	South Kerry	1-09 - 0-09	Castleisland Desmonds	Con Keating Park
	S Fitzgerald 0-5, F Courtney 1-0, P O'Mahony 0-2, P O'Connor 0-1, JP Curran 0-1.		D O'Connor 0-5, W O'Connor 0-2, M O'Connor 0-2.

23 August 1981 Quarter-final	Laune Rangers	0-10 - 0-07	Kerins O'Rahilly's	J. P. O'Sullivan Park
	J Evans 0-4, MF O'Shea 0-4, F Russell 0-1, J Shannon 0-1.		J Collins 0-2, S Kissane 0-2, N O'Sullivan 0-1, M Griffin 0-1, S Walsh 0-1.

Semi-finals

30 August 1981 Semi-final	South Kerry	1-12 - 1-06	Laune Rangers	Austin Stack Park
	S Fitzgerald 0-4, S Clifford 1-0. P O'Mahony 0-2, G Lynch 0-2, G O'Driscoll 0-1, P Sheehan 0-1, J Egan 0-1, J O'Shea 0-1.		J O'Dwyer 1-0, MF O'Shea 0-2, J Shannon 0-1, J Griffin 0-1, F Russell 0-1, A Shannon 0-1.	Referee: B O'Grady (John Mitchels)

30 August 1981 Semi-final	Austin Stacks	1-09 - 1-06	Shannon Rangers	Austin Stack Park
	N Power 1-1, M Sheehy 0-3, L O'Connell 0-2, D Sugrue 0-1, L Kerins 0-1, JL McElligott 0-1.		L Lynch 1-1, J Walsh 0-2, B Walsh 0-2, J Costello 0-1.	Referee: M Hayes (Kilcummin)

Final

27 September 1981 Final	South Kerry	1-12 - 0-11	Austin Stacks	Austin Stack Park
	J O'Shea 1-0, S Fitzgerald 0-3, J O'Sullivan 0-3, G O'Driscoll 0-2, P O'Mahony 0-2, JP Curran 0-1, P O'Connor 0-1.		M Sheehy 0-6, N Power 0-1, L Kerins 0-1, JL McElligott 0-1, G Power 0-1, L O'Connell 0-1.	Referee: T Brennan (Castleisland)

Championship statistics

Miscellaneous

South Kerry win their first title since 1958.
South Kerry qualify for the final for the first time since 1958.

References

^ "The beginning". Laune Rangers GAA website. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
^ "Feale Rangers legends to be honoured". Irish Independent. 9 October 2003. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
^ "1980". Laune Rangers GAA website. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
^ "Paudie's links with both camps". Killarney Today. 7 November 2015. Retrieved 23 December 2022.

[1] "The beginning". Laune Rangers GAA website. Retrieved 23 December 2022.

[2] "Feale Rangers legends to be honoured". Irish Independent. 9 October 2003. Retrieved 23 December 2022.

[3] "1980". Laune Rangers GAA website. Retrieved 23 December 2022.

[4] "Paudie's links with both camps". Killarney Today. 7 November 2015. Retrieved 23 December 2022.

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