1981–82 National Hurling League
The 1981–82 National Hurling League was the 51st season of the National Hurling League.came into the season as defending champions of the 1980-81 season. Carlow entered Division 1 as the promoted team.
On 18 April 1982, Kilkenny won the title after a 2-14 to 1-11 win over Wexford in the final. It was their 5th league title overall and their first since 1975-76.Division 1A table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | Pts | Notes |
| 1 | Waterford | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 10 | - |
| 2 | Cork | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 8 | - |
| 3 | Tipperary | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 8 | - |
| 4 | Galway | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 6 | - |
| 5 | Offaly | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 6 | - |
| 6 | Clare | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 4 | - |
| 7 | Laois | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | - |
Division 1B table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | Pts | Notes |
| 1 | Kilkenny | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 | Division 1 champions |
| 2 | Wexford | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 12 | Division 1 runners-up |
| 3 | Limerick | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 10 | - |
| 4 | Dublin | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 8 | - |
| 5 | Westmeath | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 6 | - |
| 6 | Antrim | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | - |
| 7 | Kerry | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | - |
| 8 | Carlow | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | - |
Group stage
Play-offs
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
Final;Top scorers overall
| Rank | Player | Team | Tally | Total | Matches | Average |
| 1 | Christy Heffernan | Kilkenny | 13-07 | 46 | 10 | 4.60 |
| 2 | Billy Fitzpatrick | Kilkenny | 2-39 | 45 | 9 | 5.00 |
| 3 | Pádraig Horan | Offaly | 3-31 | 40 | 7 | 5.71 |
| 4 | Johnny Walsh | Kildare | 1-33 | 36 | 5 | 7.20 |
| 5 | Martin Brophy | Laois | 3-27 | 36 | 6 | 6.00 |
| 6 | Danny McNaughton | Antirm | 3-26 | 35 | 7 | 5.00 |
| 7 | Ned Buggy | Wexford | 3-24 | 33 | 5 | 6.60 |
| 8 | M. Murphy | Carlow | 0-30 | 30 | 7 | 4.28 |
| 9 | P. J. Molloy | Galway | 2-22 | 28 | 8 | 3.50 |
| 10 | Kieran Brennan | Kilkenny | 3-18 | 27 | 11 | 2.45 |
Table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | Pts | Notes |
| 1 | Wicklow | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 12 | Division 2 champions |
| 2 | Meath | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 9 | - |
| 3 | Kildare | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 6 | - |
| 4 | Mayo | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 6 | - |
| 5 | Down | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | - |
| 6 | Roscommon | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | - |
| 7 | Armagh | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | - |
