Ladies Gaelic Football

ladiesgaelic.ie // 27 AIMEE MACKIN INTERVIEW Volume 14 | Issue No 1 | PEIL Spring imee Mackin put it better than anyone fresh o" the back of inspiring University of Ulster Jordanstown to the 2018 Lynch Cup title. She's pulled away from chilling by the pool in Bangkok on the TG4 All-Stars Tour but she's more than happy to chat about the weekend before she left home soil. After a hard-fought win against Garda College to get there, they were pitted against Sligo IT in the final. Their performance in the decider was one of the talks of the weekend, Mackin one of many who chipped in with some spectacular scores. "The semi-final was tough," the Armagh All-Star explains as she casts her mind back. "We probably made hard work of it ourselves. The final - we had played Sligo before, we knew they'd be tough but we just had to do our job. "We did get a good few scores, I suppose. The last few games before the managers were drilling into us that our shot percentage wasn't good. We were missing a good bit so it was good to get the tally up." She assures that there were a few nights out in Belfast before boarding the plane to Thailand. Celebrations were well and truly in order. "It was great to win with Jordanstown, I think that was the first championship win in eight years or something like that. They had got to the semi-final the last two years and never made the next step so it was good to get over the line Mackin echoes the words of many as she adds: "I think college football's unique. "You're playing with people from all over. We have a lot from di"erent counties in Ulster, you get to know them as well and you're making friends outside of your own county team. "It's always nice, it's a unique experience." Of course, she plays alongside her sister, Blaithin, with their club Shane O'Neill's and with the Orchard county, but they also don the UUJ jersey together. As their manager Sean O'Kane told The Irish News afterwards: "It was great to finally see the Mackin sisters, Aimee and Blaithin, win an All-Ireland final. This was their seventh All-Ireland final and the first one they won." Special to finally break that duck, but Mackin admits that it's always a pleasure to play alongside her sister as she tips her for big things. "It's always nice," she smiles. Armagh and UUJ star Aimee Mackin reflects on college football while taking a well earned break in Bangkok before things heat up on the Intercounty scene. "We get on well o" the pitch and on the pitch, there's only a few years between us. She's going well, she played well in the final and she's one to watch for the future." Mackin is currently in her second year of studying Sports Culture and Performance, and is enjoying that. Many say that sport and education go hand in hand together, one is an outlet for another. That said, it's often diºcult to balance it all between club, college and county. The Armagh sharpshooter agrees that it is hard, but it's all she knows and it's something she enjoys. "The managers help you out a lot," she continues. "It's tough doing it but you just get on with it. We're not the only ones at it, everyone's sort of doing it. "If you weren't training with your college, you'd be training yourself anyway." Her mind is far from that hectic lifestyle of juggling college and football commitments at the moment though, enjoying herself on the TG4 All-Stars Tour. "It's great," she grins. "It's always good to see the sun, especially out here with all the footballers from Ireland. "It's always nice to meet the girls o" the pitch. You have an expectation of what they're like on the pitch but it's nice to see the actual person. Everyone's gelled well and bonded well." On the subject of sun and the heat, the TG4 All-Star exhibition match itself was played in absolutely sweltering conditions. After 14 goals were scored, just a single point separated the 2016 and 2017 selections in 37 degrees temperatures at the Chulalongkorn University. "It was tough playing in the heat," Mackin, who collected 2-3 on the day agrees. "But I think we put on a good enough show for everyone there that was watching it." A "It was great to win with Jordanstown, I think that was the first championship win‚in eight years‚or something like that." Aimee Mackin of UUJ in action against Aine Breen of IT Sligo

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