The 1961 Railway Cup Hurling Championship was the 35th series of the inter-provincial hurling Railway Cup. Three matches were played between 19 February 1961 and 17 March 1961 to decide the title. It was contested by Connacht, Leinster, Munster and Ulster.
| Date | 19 February - 17 March 1961 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Teams |  Connacht Leinster Munster Ulster | ||
| Champions | Munster Tony Wall (captain) | ||
| Runners-up | Leinster | ||
| Tournament statistics | |||
| Matches played | 3 | ||
| Goals scored | 19 (6.33 per match) | ||
| Points scored | 51 (17 per match) | ||
| Top scorer(s) | Jimmy Doyle (2-10) | ||
| |||
Munster entered the championship as the defending champions.
On 17 March 1961, Munster won the Railway Cup after a 4-12 to 3-09 defeat of Leinster in the final at Croke Park, Dublin. It was their fifth Railway Cup title in succession.
Munster's Jimmy Doyle was the Railway Cup top scorer with 2-10.
Results
editSemi-final
| 19 February 1961 Semi-final | Ulster | 1-02 - 3-13 | Munster | Casement Park, Belfast |
| D Gallagher 1-0, J McVeigh 0-1, P Mullaney 0-1. | C Ring 2-1, J Smyth 1-2, J Doyle 0-4, L Devaney 0-4, T Kelly 0-1, S Power 0-1. | Referee: A McCallan (Antrim) |
| 19 February 1961 Semi-final | Connacht | 3-07 - 5-08 | Leinster | Duggan Park, Ballinasloe |
| S Gohery 1-4, P Sweeney 1-0, PJ Lawless 1-0, J Salmon 0-2, J Conroy 0-1. | B Dwyer 2-1, P Kehoe 1-4, S O'Brien 1-1, O McGrath 1-0, E Keher 0-2. |
Final
| 17 March 1961 Final | Munster | 4-12 - 3-09 | Leinster | Croke Park, Dublin |
| J Doyle 2-6, T Cheasty 1-1, L Devaney 1-0, C Ring 0-2, T Wall 0-1, F Walsh 0-1, T English 0-1. | T Flood 1-4, S Quaid 1-2, O McGrath 1-1, D Foley 0-1, S Clohessy 0-1. | Attendance: 34,856 Referee: J Dowling (Offaly) |
Top scorers
editOverall
edit| Rank | Player | County | Tally | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jimmy Doyle | Munster | 2-10 | 16 |
| 2 | Christy Ring | Munster | 2-03 | 9 |
Single game
edit| Rank | Player | County | Tally | Total | Opposition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jimmy Doyle | Munster | 2-06 | 12 | Leinster |
| 2 | Christy Ring | Munster | 2-01 | 7 | Ulster |
| Billy Dwyer | Leinster | 2-01 | 7 | Connacht | |
| Séamus Gohery | Connacht | 1-04 | 7 | Leinster | |
| Padge Kehoe | Leinster | 1-04 | 7 | Connacht | |
| Tim Flood | Leinster | 1-04 | 7 | Munster | |
| 3 | Jimmy Smyth | Munster | 1-02 | 5 | Ulster |
| Séamus Quaid | Leinster | 1-02 | 5 | Munster |