A decade of development has Armagh ladies one step away from All-Ireland final

Now those players face the all-conquering Dublin team gunning for four consecutive All-Ireland titles in Kingspan Breffni Park on Saturday

Armagh players Blaithin Mackin and Tiarna Grimes celebrate their TG4 All-Ireland Senior Ladies Football Championship defeat of Mayo at Parnell Park, Dublin. Picture: Sam Barnes

As it’s a first All-Ireland semi-final for five years for the Armagh ladies, the label of surprise package has attached itself to the progress of the team.

But no other county has made the progress of this footballing entity during lockdown, when they opened McKeever Park — the first-ever training ground purpose-built solely for ladies’ football, and because of lockdown, the pitch has been allowed to mature and become one of the best surfaces in the county.