# 1985 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship

The All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship of 1985 was the 99th edition of Ireland's premier hurling knockout competition. The championship ran from May to September of that year, culminating with the All-Ireland final, held at Croke Park, Dublin on 1 September. The match was contested by Offaly and Galway, with Offaly taking the title by 2–11 to 1–12. It was Offaly's second-ever All-Ireland title.

## Format

The All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship was run on a provincial basis as usual. All games were played on a knockout basis whereby once a team lost they were eliminated from the championship. The format for the All-Ireland series of games ran as follows:
* The winners of the Munster Championship advanced directly to the first All-Ireland semi-final.
* The winners of the Leinster Championship advanced directly to the second All-Ireland semi-final.
* Galway, a team who faced no competition in the Connacht Championship, entered the championship at the All-Ireland semi-final stage where they played the Munster champions.
* The winners of the Ulster Championship advanced directly to a lone All-Ireland quarter-final where they played the winners of the All-Ireland 'B' championship. The winners of this game advanced to the All-Ireland semi-final where they played the Leinster champions.

## Team changes
### To Championship

Promoted from the All-Ireland Senior B Hurling Championship
* London

### From Championship

Relegated to the All-Ireland Senior B Hurling Championship
* None

## Teams
### General information

Fourteen counties will compete in the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship: one team from the Connacht Senior Hurling Championship, six teams in the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship, five teams in the Munster Senior Hurling Championship, one team from the Ulster Senior Hurling Championship and one team from the All-Ireland Senior B Hurling Championship.
| County | Last provincial title | Last championship title | Current championship |
| Antrim | 1946 | — | Ulster Senior Hurling Championship |
| Clare | 1932 | 1914 | Munster Senior Hurling Championship |
| Cork | 1984 | 1984 | Munster Senior Hurling Championship |
| Dublin | 1961 | 1938 | Leinster Senior Hurling Championship |
| Galway | 1922 | 1980 | Connacht Senior Hurling Championship |
| Kilkenny | 1983 | 1983 | Leinster Senior Hurling Championship |
| Laois | 1949 | 1915 | Leinster Senior Hurling Championship |
| Limerick | 1981 | 1973 | Munster Senior Hurling Championship |
| London | — | 1901 | All-Ireland Senior B Hurling Championship |
| Offaly | 1984 | 1981 | Leinster Senior Hurling Championship |
| Tipperary | 1971 | 1971 | Munster Senior Hurling Championship |
| Waterford | 1963 | 1959 | Munster Senior Hurling Championship |
| Westmeath | — | — | Leinster Senior Hurling Championship |
| Wexford | 1977 | 1968 | Leinster Senior Hurling Championship |

## All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship
### All-Ireland quarter-finals
### All-Ireland Final

| Offaly | Galway |

## Championship statistics
### Miscellaneous

* Laois qualified for the Leinster final for the first time since 1951.
* In the All-Ireland semi-final, Galway defeated Cork for only the third time in the history of the championship. Previous victories for the Galway men came in the All-Ireland semi-finals of 1975 and 1979.

## Top scorers
### Season

| Rank | Player | County | Tally | Total | Matches | Average |
| 1 | Paddy Corrigan | Offaly | 2–29 | 35 | 5 | 7.00 |
| 2 | Pat Cleary | Offaly | 7–9 | 30 | 5 | 6.00 |
| 3 | Eugene Fennelly | Laois | 0–28 | 28 | 3 | 9.33 |
| 4 | Mark Corrigan | Offaly | 3–17 | 26 | 5 | 5.20 |
| 5 | John Fenton | Cork | 4-13 | 25 | 3 | 8.33 |
| 6 | Pat Cleary | Offaly | 6-6 | 24 | 4 | 6.00 |
| 7 | Kieran Brennan | Kilkenny | 1–20 | 23 | 3 | 7.66 |
| 8 | Nicky English | Tipperary | 4-4 | 16 | 3 | 5.33 |
| 9 | Séamus Power | Tipperary | 2-8 | 14 | 3 | 4.66 |
| 9 | P. J. Molloy | Galway | 1-11 | 14 | 2 | 7.00 |

### Single game

| Rank | Player | County | Tally | Total | Opposition |
| 1 | Paddy Corrigan | Offaly | 1–11 | 14 | Kilkenny |
| 2 | Kieran Brennan | Kilkenny | 1–9 | 12 | Westmeath |
| 3 | Séamus Power | Tipperary | 2–5 | 11 | Clare |
| 3 | Eugene Fennelly | Laois | 0–11 | 11 | Dublin |
| 5 | Eugene Fennelly | Laois | 0–10 | 10 | Wexford |
| 6 | Nicky English | Tipperary | 2–3 | 9 | Cork |
| 6 | Dessie Donnelly | Antrim | 2–3 | 9 | London |
| 6 | Paddy Corrigan | Offaly | 1–6 | 9 | Kilkenny |
| 6 | John Fenton | Cork | 1–6 | 9 | Tipperary |
| 6 | P. J. Molloy | Galway | 1–6 | 9 | Offaly |
| 6 | Denis Byrne | Waterford | 0–9 | 9 | Limerick |
| 6 | Mick Burke | London | 0–9 | 9 | Antrim |