Galway continued to come up short in the Championship, and by the time the team lost three finals in a decade being runners up in 1953, 1955 and again in 1958, it had been 35 years since their only triumph.
Galway entered the 1981 championship as champions, and played their first game on 19 July against Antrim in the quarter-final, winning by 6-23 to 3-11.