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.

The championship

Participating counties

Format

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.

Munster Championship

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.

Leinster Championship

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.

All-Ireland Championship

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.

Provincial championships

Leinster Senior Hurling Championship

First round****Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final

Munster Senior Hurling Championship

Quarter-finals****Semi-finals Final

All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship

All-Ireland quarter-finals

All-Ireland semi-finals

All-Ireland Final

Championship statistics

Scoring

Miscellaneous

Top scorers

Season

Single game

Player facts

Debutantes

The following players made their début in the 1971 championship:

Retirees

The following players played their last game in the 1971 championship: