With the exception of the bad publicity emanating from the Omagh National Football League match between Tyrone and Dublin, it's been a great few weeks for the GAA in Ulster.

Bumper attendances at the McKenna Cup have been followed by excellent performances in the All-Ireland club championships: Down's Ballygalget pushing recent hurling champions Newtownshandrum all the way, St Gall's defeating football's brand leaders Nemo Rangers, Innishkeen winning the intermediate football title at Croke Park.

This run of success was followed by a great start to the Hurling League by Antrim, who beat last year's All-Ireland finalists Galway at Casement Park.

Ulster Council secretary Danny Murphy says the achievements have been the result of hard work at all levels. "Considerable work has been done by St Gall's over the past 20 years. They've won five senior Antrim titles in a row and it wasn't really a shock when they won Ulster and to those who saw them in Ulster, Sunday's win wouldn't have been a big surprise."

That an Antrim club should enjoy a run like this is a welcome development for a county that while once second only to Cavan in Ulster has endured decades of disappointment but football success is nothing new in the province, which has nailed three of the past four senior intercounty All-Irelands.

Hurling is a different matter. Whereas no one's getting carried away with a sequence of results in February, they've provided a boost at a time when each successive reform of the hurling championships pushes Ulster counties further from the top table.

"If we are to promote hurling properly, we need Antrim and Down to make their way back to an advanced level. In the past there were high-profile players like Sambo McNaughton making their names in the senior championship. Kids need heroes and we've been short of them in recent years," says Murphy.

Up until 10 years ago the Ulster champions had direct access to the All-Ireland semi-finals and although they recorded only one win in over 50 years the occasion created a platform for big performances. Murphy says all the technical advances, which have accompanied football success, are being applied to strengthen hurling.

"We've a hurling director for the province as well as a hurling development officer and nine full-time managers to oversee the game in each of the counties- but for us to improve hurling in the long term, we need more players and we're hoping to encourage greater numbers to play."