Echo Women in Sport winner Ashling Thompson on finding her best form again

Cork and Milford camogie star Ashling Thompson is known not just in Cork but all around the country.

She has been a key player for the Rebels camogie side for more than 10 years and is showing no signs of slowing down.

Thompson is well-known by many for her work and speaking out on mental health issues as well as her camogie skills, making her someone who will go down as one of the greats of the game.

All through the Very Camogie League this year she has been a driving force for the Rebels from midfield and played a key role as they defeated Galway in the league final in April. For that, she was named Player of the Game and is also the April winner of The Echo Women in Sport award.

It is a testament to her resilience and determination that in her mid-30s Ashling is getting better and better and is now probably playing some of the best camogie of her life.

But to be back playing at the top level she had to call on all her mental and physical strength as back in August 2022 she picked up the dreaded ACL injury.

At that point had Ashling called it a day then it would have been perfectly understandable. She had won every honour in the game, including captaining Cork to All-Ireland glory.

But that’s not her way, a ‘mere’ ACL injury wasn’t going to stop Ashling and within a year she was back playing and played a key role for Cork as they won the All-Ireland title in 2023.

She vividly recalls when the injury happened and when the long and lonely road to recovery started.

“It was August 2022, and it was the first club game back after the All-Ireland final loss to Kilkenny. I thought the torture was over that year after the All-Ireland loss, but unfortunately two weeks later it got worse.

“Milford were playing Na Piarsaigh in the club championship and I'd say it was only 10 minutes into the game when it happened. I received the ball deep in our own half back line and went to turn to go through a challenge. When I turned my foot didn't pivot and my knee went the opposite way.

“I'd never been seriously injured before, but the crack was so loud in my head and I was screaming all right because I got such a fright. But when I got back up onto my feet, I had no pain at all.

“So I thought I could nearly play on here, but I knew because it was so loud that, like, there was definitely something wrong here.

“I didn't get initial swelling or anything either, but once I woke up the following morning I knew and it was confirmed soon after.”

So began the long road to recovery with countless physio and gym sessions.

But early in 2023 Cork were playing Tipperary in a league game at The Ragg. As Cork were going through their warm-up routine on a bitter cold day in a corner of the pitch Ashling could be seen doing her own recovery training.

She could as easily have stayed at home and trained but chose to travel with the team and do it there.

“It was personal choice, because in fairness, the management always said do whatever's best for you in order for you to recover and get back on the pitch.

“They never expected me to be at trainings two and three days a week or at matches even like if I needed to do something myself I was the priority. So it was my own choice to be up there, I wanted to be part of the group, you know even just having my voice I suppose sometimes is enough.

"And again just getting myself back used to being involved with the group and feel like I'm part of it.

“Even though I might not be playing I feel like when I'm there in that environment and that atmosphere, and even if I'm just doing a few runs like on the pitch myself in a corner, like to me, that's enough to feel like I'm still involved and still a huge part of the setup.

It's a very lonely road, to be honest and I suppose it was tough, especially around that time, because we all know how hard the winters are in Ireland and then not to be playing sport. 

"And obviously we would have had a few months off before coming back in with Cork. So yeah, it was desperately lonely, to be honest, like, and the first part of your rehab is just simple movement like getting the flexible or mobility back in the legs so you're just doing the most basic exercises.

CHALLENGING

“Everyone was working from home a lot, so I was pretty much in solitary confinement. That's what I would compare it to. But once you get back into the gym, I suppose you are in an environment then where there's people. So that's the first step, but I would say I found it very tough from a social aspect, very hard going back even to Cork.

“I felt socially awkward, I spoke about it before, how awkward I felt going back into that environment. It was like I was ing the team for the first time, so mentally it is extremely challenging.”

As 2023 rolled on Cork were getting better and better and so was Ashling and she could be seen at games up and down the sideline bursting to get onto the pitch.

At return came in the All-Ireland quarter-final against Kilkenny a day that was special to Ashling.

“It was nerve-wracking, but it was exciting. I was always of the view that like I'll do whatever I'm told to do. I always felt very confident in my medical team, and the same with the management. I trusted their view, I trusted them immensely. So whatever was best for me and the team in that environment like is the direction that I took so they trusted that I could come in and do my 15 minutes for the quarter final.

I just kind of smirking to myself, because I was like a child you know getting that sweet for the first time.

“To me, that was probably one of the most special days of my entire career, but from a collective the semi-final win over Galway was.

“I thought this is the group that I want to be involved and it was that semi-final, you know, it was incredible. And to go on and win and have Amy O'Connor as captain, and get her hat-trick on the day. It was just incredible stuff like stuff of dreams

THRILL

“It's been a constant thrill since 2022, like since that ACL and I suppose to continue that into 2024 was really surprising for me being 34 years of age. But at the same time like that's why I can only be grateful for the injury, because the way I've bounced back from it physically and mentally.

“It's made me so much stronger so I do owe it a lot. 

I owe a lot to my teammates, the group are brilliant to be involved in, it's once in a lifetime, and hopefully we can push on again this year.”

They certainly pushed on in 2025 and won the Very Camogie League title for the first time since 2013, with Thompson playing a key role all through, culminating in her Player of the Game performance in the final against Galway.

“It wasn't the pressure of not winning it for 12 years. It was just, you know, we wanted to attack this year hard again. Every year is just a new step. It's a new building block and it's all about pushing yourself that bit further, every All-Ireland you win, the next one is harder.

NO PRESSURE

“So we know we have to pick it up another 10% like if we want to get over the line. But I don't think it brings pressure.

“It's all the girls in the that are actually pushing us in a direction. To make ourselves that 10% so that hopefully you know we'll be there about again and that’s our target, to try and win every game and hopefully it will see us heading to Croke Park later in the year for the All-Ireland final.

“We start next Saturday against Limerick and that is where our focus is, on that game and nothing else."