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

Spa-Glenflesk v Na Fianna

13 June 1981First round

Spa-Glenflesk

0-08 - 0-03

Na Fianna

Spa Grounds

Castleisland Desmonds v Kenmare

14 June 1981First round

Castleisland Desmonds

2-09 - 0-05

Kenmare

Currow Grounds

Laune Rangers v Eoin Rua

14 June 1981First round

Laune Rangers

2-08 - 0-04

Eoin Rua

FitzGerald Stadium

Kerins O'Rahilly's v Killarney

14 June 1981First round

Kerins O'Rahilly's

1-07 - 1-03

Killarney

FitzGerald Stadium

St. Brendan's v John Mitchels

21 June 1981First round

St. Brendan's

1-04 - 0-06

John Mitchels

Austin Stack Park

Second round

Kerins O'Rahilly's v Spa-Glenflesk

5 July 1981Second 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.

Castleisland Desmonds v West Kerry

5 July 1981Second 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.

Laune Rangers v St. Brendan's

15 August 1981Second 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.

Castleisland Desmonds v West Kerry

16 August 1981Second 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

Austin Stacks v Feale Rangers

15 August 1981Quarter-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.

Shannon Rangers v Mid Kerry

16 August 1981Quarter-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.

South Kerry v Castleisland Desmonds

22 August 1981Quarter-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.

Laune Rangers v Kerins O'Rahilly's

23 August 1981Quarter-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

South Kerry v Laune Rangers

30 August 1981Semi-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)

Austin Stacks v Shannon Rangers

30 August 1981Semi-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

South Kerry v Austin Stacks

27 September 1981Final	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

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.