The championship was won by Tipperary who scored defeated their great rivals of the age Cork in a replayed semi-final and Kilkenny by a 16-point margin in the final.
[1][2] Tipperary needed an injury time equaliser to draw with Cork in the semi-finals at Mullingar.
Injury time goals by Eimear McDonnell and Noelle Kennedy gave Cork a somewhat flattering seven-point victory in the replay.
Martina Maher scored both goals for Kilkenny against Galway for Kilkenny who qualified for their second final in three years with a relatively inexperienced team, Edel Maher and Aoife Neary were just 16 and goalkeeper Caitriona Ryan only made her championship debut that summer, when star of the team Sinead Millea returned from her world travels.
Kilkenny were jointly managed by Brendan Williams and Ted Browne (Angela Downey's husband), Tipperary took control of the final in a three-minute spell from the ninth to the 12th minute of the first half when first Claire Grogan and then Deirdre Hughes smashed home excellent goals before Hughes scored again with a sparkling point.