The 2021 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship was the 134th staging of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship, the Gaelic Athletic Association's premier inter-county hurling tournament, since its establishment in 1887. The championship began on 26 June and ended on 22 August 2021. Antrim, having won the 2020 Joe McDonagh Cup, returned to the Leinster Championship for the first time since the 2015 competition. Limerick entered the championship as the defending champions. Cork's Patrick Horgan was the championship's top scorer with 0-54.