Former Wexford manager Tony Dempsey says that the All-Ireland senior hurling championship should be restored to the prime summer months.

Since the introduction of the split season, both the inter-county hurling and football campaigns have wrapped up by July’s end.

This past weekend marked the end of All-Ireland champions’ Clare, Waterford and Wexford’s respective 2025 campaigns and, speaking to RTE Sport this week, former Model County boss and county board chairman Dempsey said he feels that “hurling is under threat”.

"We're bitterly disappointed because the summer is when young people share the joy of school holidays with being able to watch their elite performers - in our case Lee Chin and Rory O'Connor - and not only to watch them but to enjoy them without the problem of trying to attend school on a Monday," he said.

"So school holidays will now be a time for Wexford, Waterford and of course Clare and many other counties when the performers will be gone from there. We won't be able to see them.

"The reality is we promote and market our games - every sport that does that through the performance of their best elite athletes.

“We hand over the summer, the best time for an elderly person or a youngster who doesn't have the worry of school to attend and to support and to watch our hurlers and indeed our footballers. So we've handed it over to other sports."

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