1985–86 National Hurling League
The 1985–86 National Hurling League was the 55th season of the National Hurling League.
Division 1
came into the season as defending champions of the 1984-85 season. Clare and Dublin entered Division 1 as the promoted teams.On 11 May 1986, Kilkenny won the title following a 3-11 to 2-5 win over Galway in the final. It was their first league title since 1982-83 and their 7th National League title overall.
Dublin and Laois were relegated from Division 1.
Kilkenny's Ger Fennelly was the Division 1 top scorer with 1-47.
Table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | Pts | Notes |
| 1 | Cork | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 12 | |
| 2 | Galway | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 12 | National Hurling League runner-up |
| 3 | Kilkenny | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 9 | National Hurling League champions |
| 4 | Limerick | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 8 | |
| 5 | Clare | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 6 | |
| 6 | Offaly | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 6 | |
| 7 | Dublin | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 5 | Relegated to Division 2 |
| 8 | Laois | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | Relegated to Division 2 |
Group stage
Knock-out stage
Quarter-finalsSemi-finals
Final
Scoring statistics
| Rank | Player | Team | Tally | Total | Matches | Average |
| 1 | Ger Fennelly | Kilkenny | 1-47 | 50 | 10 | 5.00 |
| 2 | Paddy Kelly | Limerick | 0-43 | 43 | 8 | 5.37 |
| 3 | Tony O'Sullivan | Cork | 0-39 | 39 | 8 | 4.87 |
| 4 | P. J. Molloy | Galway | 0-35 | 35 | 10 | 3.50 |
| 5 | Val Donnellan | Galway | 0-28 | 28 | 7 | 4.00 |
| 6 | Paddy Corrigan | Offaly | 2-21 | 27 | 5 | 5.40 |
| 6 | Joe Cooney | Galway | 2-21 | 27 | 10 | 2.70 |
| 6 | Cyril Lyons | Clare | 1-24 | 27 | 7 | 3.85 |
| 9 | Liam Fennelly | Kilkenny | 7-01 | 22 | 10 | 2.20 |
| 9 | Seán McDermott | Dublin | 2-16 | 22 | 4 | 5.50 |
;Top scorers in a single game
| Rank | Player | Team | Tally | Total | Opposition |
| 1 | Seán McDermott | Dublin | 2-07 | 13 | Laois |
| 2 | Val Donnellan | Clare | 0-12 | 12 | Limerick |
| 3 | Paddy Corrigan | Offaly | 1-08 | 11 | Clare |
| 4 | Ger Fennelly | Kilkenny | 1-07 | 10 | Galway |
| 4 | Tony O'Sullivan | Cork | 0-10 | 10 | Clare |
| 4 | Paddy Kelly | Limerick | 0-10 | 10 | Kilkenny |
| 7 | Cyril Lyons | Clare | 1-06 | 9 | Laois |
| 7 | P. J. Molloy | Galway | 0-09 | 9 | Dublin |
| 7 | Tony O'Sullivan | Cork | 0-09 | 9 | Galway |
| 10 | John Holohan | Wexford | 1-05 | 8 | Limerick |
| 10 | Ger Fennelly | Kilkenny | 0-08 | 8 | Offaly |
Division 2
, Meath, Tipperary and Wexford entered Division 2 as the promoted and relegated teams from the previous season.On 9 March 1986, Wexford secured the title following a 3-15 to 1-5 win over Kerry in the final round of the group stage. Westmeath secured promotion to Division 1 as the second-placed team.
Down and Roscommon were relegated from Division 2.
Table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | Pts | Notes |
| 1 | Wexford | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 13 | Promoted to Division 1 |
| 2 | Westmeath | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 12 | Promoted to Division 1 |
| 3 | Tipperary | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 10 | |
| 4 | Antrim | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 9 | |
| 5 | Kerry | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 6 | |
| 6 | Meath | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 4 | |
| 7 | Roscommon | 7 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 1 | Relegated to Division 3 |
| 8 | Down | 7 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 1 | Relegated to Division 3 |
Group stage
Division 3
, Louth and Waterford entered Division 3 as the promoted and relegated teams from the previous season.On 9 March 1986, Mayo secured the title following a 0-12 to 0-8 win over Armagh in the final round of the group stage. Waterford secured promotion to Division 2 as the second-placed team.
Louth were relegated from Division 3.
Table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | Pts | Notes |
| 1 | Mayo | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 12 | Promoted to Division 2 |
| 2 | Waterford | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 12 | Promoted to Division 2 |
| 3 | Armagh | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 9 | - |
| 4 | Wicklow | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 6 | - |
| 5 | Carlow | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 6 | - |
| 6 | Derry | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 5 | - |
| 7 | Kildare | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 4 | - |
| 8 | Louth | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | Relegated to Division 4 |