Kilkenny earned the unexpected victory and the right to meet Wexford in the Leinster final because they were the more alert side all through, faster to the ball and always showed the greater dash. Dublin played with the wind in the opening half, and though they had more of the play, it was Kilkenny who made the better use of fewer chances to lead by 2–0 to 0–1 at the interval, with goals from Breda Kinsella and Teasie O'Neill to Maureen Brennan’s Dublin point. The winners increased their lead soon after the restart, when Ann Carroll pointed from a 30, but Dublin now rallied. Judy Doyle took a neat pass from Anne McAllister to score a good goal. Kilkenny again attacked and after failing on two 30s had a vital point by Breda Kinsella. Dublin switched Kitty Murphy to right wing and Maureen Brennan to midfield and staged a late rally that brought points from Kitty Murphy and Kit Kehoe to reduce the margin to two points. Kilkenny had the last word, however, when Ann Carroll landed a long range point to clinch victory. It was Dublin’s first defeat in this competition since they lost to Louth in July 1936.
Kilkenny played two matches to reach the Leinster final while Wexford got there without playing a match, getting a bye in the first round and then got a walkover from Louth. As Agnes Hourigan pointed out in the Irish Press
Beginning with a coaching course around Easter, the drive went on for the revival of defunct clubs, and was continued by naming a panel of county players early on and giving them as much match-play experience as possible against varied opposition. That long-term preparation certainly paid off on Sunday when the whole Kilkenny side, from start to stop, played with the most important asset of all. They went out in the firm belief that they could beat Dublin and they did just that.
Two goals down after seven minutes, Wexford battled back in the second quarter to win the final. One of their heroines was playing in her first senior game, Josie Kehoe from Cloughbawn, a last minute change at corner forward for Eileen Allen, and scored an opportunist first goal after the Cork goalkeeper had saved a free from Breda Doyle that was going over for a point. Agnes Hourigan wrote in the Irish Press
Always fast and never without excitement this was a most satisfying game that kept the crowd of between five and six thousand in a constant uproar as Cork against the odds, swept into an early lead. But Wexford came storming back to first level and then draw ahead, so that the Leinster champions seemed well on the road to victory when they led 3–1 to 2–0 at half time, with the advantage of the fresh breeze still to come.
