The 1968 All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship was the high point of the 1968 season in

Camogie Camogie ( ; ga, camógaíocht ) is an Irish stick-and-ball team sport played by women. Camogie is played by 100,000 women in Ireland and worldwide, largely among Irish communities. A variant of the game of hurling (which is played by men onl ...

. The championship was won by

Wexford Wexford () is the county town of County Wexford, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the island of Ireland. The town is linked to Dublin by the M11/N11 N ...

who defeated

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

by a three-point margin in the final.

Dublin’s Defeat

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

’s 2–3 to 1–3 defeat by

Kilkenny Kilkenny (). is a city in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region and in the province of Leinster. It is built on both banks of the River Nore. The 2016 census gave the total population of Kilkenny as 26,512. Kilken ...

Parnell Park Parnell Park is a GAA stadium in Donnycarney, Dublin, Ireland with a capacity of 8,500. It is the home of the Dublin GAA hurling, football, camogie and ladies' football teams at all levels of competition. The ground is used by Dublin's inter ...

on 23 June 1968 was their first defeat in a Leinster championship match since July

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...

, when they lost to

Louth Louth may refer to: Australia *Hundred of Louth, a cadastral unit in South Australia * Louth, New South Wales, a town *Louth Bay, a bay in South Australia **Louth Bay, South Australia, a town and locality Canada * Louth, Ontario Ireland * County ...

. Agnes Hourigan wrote in the Irish Press

Kilkenny Kilkenny (). is a city in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region and in the province of Leinster. It is built on both banks of the River Nore. The 2016 census gave the total population of Kilkenny as 26,512. Kilken ...
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 Dame Maureen Brennan (née Eddy; born 26 March 1954) is an English educator from the West Midlands. She is the previous CEO of Matrix Academy Trust, a position she accepted after serving as headteacher at Barr Beacon School and as principal at ...
’s Dublin point. The winners increased their lead soon after the restart, when
Ann Carroll Ann Carroll is a camogie player. twice an All Ireland inter-county medalist and the outstanding personality in the first decade of the history of the All-Ireland Senior Club Camogie Championship winning medals with both St Patrick’s, Glengo ...
pointed from a 30, but Dublin now rallied.
Judy Doyle Judy Doyle is a former camogie player who was one of the leading goalscorers of her generation, the scorer of three goals for Dublin against Tipperary in the 1961 All Ireland final, four goals for Dublin against Antrim in the 1964 All Ireland ...
took a neat pass from
Anne McAllister Barbara Schenck under the pseudonym Anne McAllister is an American best-selling writer of over 55 romance novels since 1985. Biography Barbara Schenck was born in California, but spent time on her grandparents' ranch in Colorado and visiting ...
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 Kitty or Kittie may refer to: Animals * Cat The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house ...
to right wing and
Maureen Brennan Dame Maureen Brennan (née Eddy; born 26 March 1954) is an English educator from the West Midlands. She is the previous CEO of Matrix Academy Trust, a position she accepted after serving as headteacher at Barr Beacon School and as principal at ...
to midfield and staged a late rally that brought points from
Kitty Murphy Kitty or Kittie may refer to: Animals * Cat The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house ...
and
Kit Kehoe Kit may refer to: Places *Kitt, Indiana, US, formerly Kit * Kit, Iran, a village in Mazandaran Province * Kit Hill, Cornwall, England People * Kit (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Kit (surname) Animals * Young animals: ...
to reduce the margin to two points.
Kilkenny Kilkenny (). is a city in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region and in the province of Leinster. It is built on both banks of the River Nore. The 2016 census gave the total population of Kilkenny as 26,512. Kilken ...
had the last word, however, when
Ann Carroll Ann Carroll is a camogie player. twice an All Ireland inter-county medalist and the outstanding personality in the first decade of the history of the All-Ireland Senior Club Camogie Championship winning medals with both St Patrick’s, Glengo ...
landed a long range point to clinch victory. It was
Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
’s first defeat in this competition since they lost to
Louth Louth may refer to: Australia *Hundred of Louth, a cadastral unit in South Australia * Louth, New South Wales, a town *Louth Bay, a bay in South Australia **Louth Bay, South Australia, a town and locality Canada * Louth, Ontario Ireland * County ...
in July
1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...
.

played two matches to reach the Leinster final while

got there without playing a match, getting a bye in the first round and then got a walkover from

. 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.

Leinster final

It took

six years to win an All Ireland title, instead it was

who delivered a breakthrough victory in 1968. They killed off the Linester final with three goals in the first ten minutes and went on to defeat Kilkenny 8–3 to 1–3 with four goals from

Mary Doyle Mary Doyle (July 21, 1931 – June 8, 1995) was an American theatre actress who also appeared on TV between 1956 and 1982. Early life and career Doyle was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, and was the younger sister of actor David Doyle. She ac ...

, and one each from

Josie Kehoe Josie may refer to: People: * Josie (name), various people and fictional characters with the given name * Edith Josie (1921-2000), Canadian writer and newspaper columnist * Peter Josie, Saint Lucia politician * Josie (stylist), Spanish stylist and ...

Bridget O'Connor Bridget O'Connor (18 January 1961 – 22 September 2010) was a BAFTA-winning author, playwright and screenwriter. Early life and education O'Connor was born in Harrow, north-west London, the second of five children. Her father Jim was from Co ...

, Mary Walsh and Eileen Allen.

Final

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,

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.Report of final in Irish Press, September 16, 1968

Final stages

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MATCH RULES *50 minutes *Replay if scores level *Maximum of 3 substitutions

References

External links

Camogie Association

Historical reports of All Ireland finals

Camogie on facebook

{{All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Januar ...