Issue link: http://digitaleditions.uberflip.com/i/1365376
www.ladiesgaelic.ie | SPRING 2021 | 11 INTERVIEW www.ladiesgaelic.ie | SPRING 2021 | 5 "Against Cork last year (2019), I got a run there, but before that I probably wasn't old enough or experienced enough to play in those roles. I was more a half forward and even full forward, especially when Aimee was injured. "Definitely, this year (2020), it was one of my most enjoyable seasons so far with Armagh. I had that wee bit more freedom, going back to the way I had always played for my club. It was good to be able to bring that on to the county team too." Without a nailed down date for a return to collective training, the Mackin sisters continue to train from home. Online study has freed Blaithín up to chip away at her training load throughout the day, while having a competitive training partner has certainly eased the load for her. "There are four of us playing football here in the house, me, Aimee and my two brothers [Connaire and Ciaran], so during the first lockdown, the four of us chipped in together and turned a wee shed here into our gym. We've really got the use out of it when you can't get out and use anything else. "Only for Aimee, I probably would not be doing the gym at all. I was never very good on that side of things. Only for her getting into it with her rehab, I might have been slow doing it. "This year has been great; the first time round we were doing different programmes completely for her rehab, which was more complex than what I needed to do. She wasn't doing the running for the majority of the first lockdown, so I was doing that on my own. "Even the company on the runs is great. I don't have to talk to myself any more. She keeps me going and I keep her going. It has been great having her back. "Even with the gym work, to have someone correcting your technique is huge. We're pretty good at telling each other if something is wrong. There is no love lost when you are critiquing each other. You need that. "Me and Aimee are very alike and we both think you won't get better by people telling you you are brilliant when you're not. We are competitive, even if she's ahead in a run, I feel I need to get up to her, and vice versa." Victories over Tyrone and Mayo saw Armagh qualify for the TG4 All-Ireland Semi- final in 2020, only for eventual champions Dublin to get the better of them following a cracking encounter. While Armagh were devastated to lose that game, looking back at it now, Blaithín feels it has given them a real confidence boost heading into 2021. Blaithín on her family's delight in seeing her sister Aimee named Player's Player of the Year after a brilliant comeback season from a serious knee injury: "It was class. For people watching, they may not have realised what she went through coming back from the knee injury. Everyone saw her pick up the injury against Cork back in 2019, and then the next time they had seen her was the Tyrone game in the championship in 2020. "A few people would have seen her club games earlier in the year, but from outside it looked like she was straight back into it. It was an horrendous injury. I think it is amazing the way she came back. For me, I watched her do all her rehab, the slow, small steps and then progressing on to her running. I knew it'd be tough but I didn't appreciate how tough it would be. "Watching the Player of the Year award show, it was very emotional. We were so proud of what she had done. It's brilliant how far she came and the top form she came back with too was so good to see. I have very rarely seen that, to have such a big year after such a tough injury. We were so proud." "Even though losing wasn't ideal, and we went out to win, it was good to play against them. We hadn't played Dublin in a few years so it was nice to see where we are against the best team in the country. It was important to see that benchmark. "Playing in Division 2 is difficult in the League because you don't get to compare yourself to the top, top teams every week. It was good to play the likes of Mayo and Dublin in our Championship run. I think all the girls have taken confidence from that. "As much as it was a tough loss to take, it was more the confidence we took from it. For players around my age, getting to play against that level of player is the best experience you can get. "Facing the likes of Sinéad Goldrick and Carla Rowe, it doesn't get much better. It is all on the learning curve for us, and we can only get better if we keep on growing as a group together." This image: Blaithin Mackin of Armagh during the TG4 All- Ireland Senior Ladies Football Championship Round 1 match between Tyrone and Armagh. Panel image: Aimee Mackin of Armagh, at her club Shane O'Neills, with her 2020 TG4 Senior Players' Player of the Year award