GAA Director General Paraic Duffy has given Ulster GAA a massive endorsement as the curtain comes down on the 2009 season.

Duffy, a native of Monaghan, has made a huge impact since succeeding Liam Mulvihill in the top administrative post at Croke Park and yesterday lauded the advances which the Association has made in Ulster.

“The GAA in the province is very strong and this is due in no small measure to the excellent work being undertaken on so many fronts by the Ulster Council. It could be said that Ulster leads the way in various fields and the very solid structures that are in place certainly auger well for the future,” maintains Duffy.

And he believes that the new agreement entered into between the GAA and the Gaelic Players Association will have far-reaching benefits for both bodies. Indeed, it is possible in the foreseeable future that both organisations will find themselves sharing office-space in Croke Park — something that might have been deemed unimaginable not so long ago.

“In principle that is what we would like to see happen. We just can’t do it at the moment for practical reasons, but it is certainly something we would like to do going forward,” explains Duffy.

Ulster Council chairman Tom Daly also viewed Duffy’s encouraging assessment of the province’s current state of health as a challenge to take things to the next level.

Meanwhile, Sean Boylan, who guided Ireland to success over Australia in the International Rules series last year, is still in the dark as to his future involvement with the Irish side. Boylan was due to take charge of the team for a third series this year only for Australia to pull out citing financial constraints.