Hurling
"I think this tattoo best describes me as a person; on the field I'm ferocious, but in general I'm soft as shit, like."
Ashling Thompson was 15 when she got her first tattoo – and it hurt like hell. "I never expected it to be as bad as it was," she recalls, laughing. "It was chronic. I remember that I couldn't even cry because it hurt so badly; you know when you're in that much pain?! I swore after that that I'd never, ever get another tattoo. And now..." she chuckles, considering the amount of ink on her body 12 years later. "Well... it's a different story."
The Cork camogie captain and Red Bull Athlete has become known for her eclectic collection of body art over the last few years. Watch the video above as she talks through some of her most memorable ones and reveals her latest addition, recently inked live on Facebook by Dublin-based Brazilian artist Bruno Santos.
"It's a girl's face in a tiger's head," she explains. "It might take me a couple of years to be definite on the tattoo I want, so it took a long time to piece it together and make an exact idea of how to represent myself in the best way with a character. Basically, the tiger represents more of my sporting side; the physical, die-hard, wear-your-heart-on-your-sleeve type fare, and obviously represents strength and courage and all of that. But the girl has very soft features and is a lot more soft in general – which shows that I do have an emotional side, as well, and I hold a lot of emotion. I think this tattoo best describes me as a person; on the field I'm ferocious, but in general I'm soft as shit, like," she laughs.
After spotting Santos's distinctive work online, she knew he was the man for the job. "I was actually following Dublin Ink on Instagram, and I saw a lot of his work was very black and very deep," she says. "I just liked his style in general: the fact that it was so dark catches the attention, but then when you look closer, you kind of see the meaning behind it. The effort he puts into the tattoo, and the detail – he's amazing. He's one of the best artists I've seen. I think he just grasped the concept the best. I showed him a few pictures and said 'I don't want to copy anything, but you have the idea' and I trusted him 100%. He showed me the picture on the day, and I just said 'Go for it'."
Thompson's love of tattoos began at a young age. "I was always into art in school, but obviously at that age, you'd rarely see girls and boys with tattoos," she recalls. "But I remember seeing one on a girl in the Leaving Cert class one day; it was on her back, and I just thought it was so cool and I thought she was so brave. I couldn't understand how she went through with it; everyone thought she was so crazy, that the pain must have been horrific. When she told me what it meant, I thought it was just really nice - that it was symbolic. Tattoos have just always caught my attention."
Most of the Newtownshandrum native's tattoos have a personal meaning to her. "There are obviously a couple that didn't have meaning to them – especially when I was younger and just got them for the sake of it," she chuckles. "But I suppose they all do, in a way. A lot of them are based around my achievements with my sport, and based around life in general; my family. Even the one I got most recently – I'd never got a tattoo that represents me as a person - so that one represents my character and that there's two sides to me, basically. They all tie into life in general; I have a tattoo on my side that says 'Never give up', and there's a quotation under it – that was actually our team motto when we won our first All-Ireland title, and it represents my own life, too."
There have been negative reactions, too, of course – but as you might expect from a woman with such an indomitable spirit, she shrugs them off. "I tend to take no notice of what anyone says, but it is annoying when you see some comments," she admits. "I could do a lovely photoshoot somewhere, and someone could say 'Lovely photos, but the tattoos are disgusting'. It's horrible – I think people are very blunt and don't see the meaningful side to tattoos. That could represent somebody that has passed away, so it's like 'How dare you?'," she says, shaking her head. "At the same time, I don't mind – people are entitled to their opinion. But it's my body and I can do whatever I want with it - so I just take no notice."
And as you might expect after watching the video, there are plenty more tattoos in Thompson's future. "I definitely will expand my collection, but it always takes me a good while to come up with the inspiration - and I'd like to take the time to appreciate this one," she says, laughing. "It'll probably take another while to come up with something, but it's definitely not the end of the road when it comes to tattoos. Definitely not."