Hurling
Meet the real Ashling Thompson
Cork camogie captain, Ashling Thompson, shows us a side of her that hasn't been seen before.
Ashling is the Cork Camogie Captain
© Kevin Griffin
Ashling Thompson, is arguably one of the best-known athletes in Ireland. As the captain of the Cork Camogie team, she is not just famous for her incredible skill on the field, but also for her no-nonsense attitude.
Showing just how tough she is, the 26-year-old has hit rock bottom and come back fighting – she is now an ambassador for mental health, a Red Bull athlete and is loving life. We caught up with the woman herself to find out a little bit more about what lies behind that tough exterior.
Tell me how your love of camogie began?
I definitely had a hurley in my hand from the moment I could walk. My mum and dad both played a lot of sport so I think it was bred into us from day one. It took me a while to get the hang of hurling, I wasn’t great when I started out at six years of age. But once I got the hang of it, I absolutely loved it. The skills came on then, and they stuck, thank God.
I was definitely a tomboy, there was no princess aspect to me at all.
You are from a sports-mad family with two older brothers, what were you like as a kid?
I was definitely a tomboy, there was no princess aspect to me at all. We would go around boxing the heads off each other. If I got a Barbie, I’d cut all its hair off – I just wasn’t girly.
You’ve just been signed as a Red Bull athlete, what does that mean to you and what effect will it have on your sporting career?
It will definitely boost my career – it is major. I am delighted they have taken on a camogie player, it is amazing to see a world-renowned company take on a sport like camogie. When I first sat down with them, it was so over-whelming; I couldn’t take it all in. I am so honoured, especially when you look at the calibre of the other Red Bull athletes.
There is a pretty impressive line-up of athletes with Red Bull, do you look up to anyone in particular?
I suppose I’d look up to all of the athletes in different ways – they each possess different traits that I love. But if I had to pick one, it would be Joe Canning as his game is directly applicable to mine. When I watch him and what he does on the hurling field, there is so much I can take from it.
Ashling in action
© Kevin Griffin
You have the reputation for being a bit of a tough cookie on the pitch, are you the same off the pitch?
I wouldn’t take sh*t from anyone off the field but I am very soft at the same time. If I was chatting to someone about a sensitive issue, I would start tearing up, I am totally soft. I easily forgive people and am very protective, but I don’t take messing from anyone. I’m the caramel barrel you get in a box of Roses, hard on the outside but a total softy underneath it all.
Tell us one thing that people would be surprised to find out about you?
I suppose my profile is very much ‘Ashling Thompson the camogie player’ and ‘Ashling Thompson the ambassador for mental health’ and that’s great but I think people would be surprised to see my humorous side. I am not at all serious and I am very easy-going. I am not all doom and gloom and sadness, I am actually great craic. I’d love people to see that side of me in an atmosphere where I am really laid back, just being myself, just being Ashling.
I am healthy 80% of the time but I wouldn’t shy away from a chocolate bar if I wanted one.
You must have to adhere to a pretty strict training and diet regime?
I wouldn’t be the type of person who is too meticulous with my food. I would say I am 80:20 when it comes to healthy eating. I am healthy 80% of the time but I wouldn’t shy away from a chocolate bar if I wanted one. Sticking to a healthy diet 100% of the time can be very stressful. I train five or six days a week so I do eat healthily to ensure I have enough energy but I don’t beat myself up if I want a biscuit or a bar of chocolate.
Ashling admits that she takes no nonsense
© Kevin Griffin
I have had my ex-boyfriend’s name tattooed on my wrist. And this will tell you how stupid I am – it was a bet!
You have lots of tattoos, which is your favourite and why?
The year I won my first All-Ireland title our club motto was ‘Never give up, never let up’. That was back in 2012 when things weren’t going well for me, but that was the turnaround point for me. We ended up winning the All-Irelands so I got a tattoo on my side saying ‘Never give up on what you really want to do. The person with big dreams is more powerful than the one with all the facts’. That’s definitely my favourite tattoo as I feel that was the turning point in my life – those words ‘never give up’ are so important to me because I didn’t give up, I didn’t have a choice.
Do you have any tattoos that you got in a moment of madness that you regret?
Oh plenty! I have had my ex-boyfriend’s name tattooed on my wrist. And this will tell you how stupid I am – it was a bet! I put his name on my wrist and we broke up about a week later. I have the half sleeve now so thank God you can’t see it at all.
Ashling on the pitch
© [unknown]
What has been your proudest moment in life so far?
2015 was my proudest year – so much happened. But my proudest moment was winning the All-Ireland with Cork and lifting the cup as captain last year. My family are tough as nails, we never hug or show affection to each other so I will never forget the look on my brothers' faces and the tears in their eyes, it was one of the best moments of my life.
What team do you take the most pleasure in beating?
There’s a few! In Munster, the big satisfaction would be Tipperary. But across the country it would be Kilkenny.
I like to feel a certain way before I go on the pitch. If I don’t have my eyebrows done and my eyelashes on, I would lose focus altogether.
Do you have any crazy pre-match rituals?
I always say a prayer in the bathroom before a game and I have to bring a certain bracelet that’s for good luck. I also like to feel a certain way before I go on the pitch. I’ll do my hair in a certain way and if I don’t have my eyebrows done and my eyelashes on, I would lose focus altogether. I have to look the way I want to look. It’s not in a big-headed way, it’s what I just have to do.
If you could give a younger Ashling one piece of advice, what would it be?
Expect the unexpected. Everything that happened before was a huge shock – I wasn’t very street-wise as I had grown up in a small village in the countryside and I had to face things nobody should have to face in life, I was never prepared for it and that’s why it hit me so hard. So always expect the unexpected whether it’s brilliant or devastating.
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