This is a round-up of the 1981 Sligo Senior Football Championship. St. Mary's completed the three-in-a-row in the repeat of the 1980 final, albeit with a smaller winning margin. Eastern Harps would be relegated from Senior football this year, after a poor league campaign, despite successive Championship final appearances. St. Mary's later won their second Connacht title, following on this Championship win.

Quarter finals

Game	Date	Venue	Team A	Score	Team B	Score
Sligo SFC Quarter Final	July 19	Ballymote	St. Mary’s	4-6	Tubbercurry	1-9
Sligo SFC Quarter Final	July 19	Markievicz Park	Tourlestrane	1-7	St. Patrick’s	1-3
Sligo SFC Quarter Final	July 19	Tubbercurry	Eastern Harps	beat	Shamrock Gaels	(10 pts.)
Sligo SFC Quarter Final	August 9	Ballymote	Curry	1-6	Coolera	1-4

Semi-Finals

Game	Date	Venue	Team A	Score	Team B	Score
Sligo SFC Semi-Final	August 2	Ballymote	Eastern Harps	0-6	Tourlestrane	0-2
Sligo SFC Semi-Final	August 16	Ballymote	St. Mary’s	3-9	Curry	1-7

Sligo Senior Football Championship Final

St. Mary's	2-9 - 0-4 (final score after 60 minutes)	Eastern Harps
---- Team: J. Kelly T. Carroll J. McNamara K. Delaney C. O'Donnell M. Barrett J. McGowan M. Laffey G. Monaghan E. McHale B. Murphy John Kent Jim Kent K. O'Keeffe R. Henneberry ---- Substitutes:	Half-time: Competition: Sligo Senior Football Championship (Final) Date: August 30, 1981 Venue: Corran Park, Ballymote Referee:	---- Team: J. Casey R. Clarke D. O'Hara D. Garvin S. Gallagher F. Casey M. Reid E. Clarke R. Taylor R. Tansey D. Johnson C. Bruen D. Doherty P. Molloy J. Higgins ---- Substitutes: