Summertime is when stars should shine

FORMER Wexford manager Tony Dempsey has claimed that hurling is “under threat” and insists that prime Championship action must be restored to the summer months.

- BY PAT NOLAN

Of the 11 counties that partake in the top tier, the campaign is over for five of them as of last Sunday, including Dempsey’s native county.

Indeed, Wexford had been eliminated from the Championship seven days before they played their final game against Kilkenny last Sunday, which was a dead rubber in Chadwicks Wexford Park, while outgoing All-Ireland champions Clare were in the same predicament ahead of their trip to Limerick.

And although Offaly and Antrim jousted to avoid relegation in Tullamore on Sunday, it was guaranteed to be their last game of the year.