'If you don't have a profile, it's not news' - Ashling Thompson looking to move on after high-profile court case
Camogie star Ashling Thompson has said she is ready to move on from the difficulties of the court case that has dominated her life for the last 18 months.
Last month, the All-Ireland winner avoided a criminal conviction for assaulting two women in a Cork nightclub on the undertaking of paying €6,000 to family refuge charities and to cover witness expenses. The judge said that once it is paid, the case will disappear and Ms Thomspon will not have a conviction.
Ms Thompson has now said that it is time for her to move on from the case and move forward with her life.
"I regret that I reacted to the situation. I should have never reacted," she said in an interview.
I'm glad to have it behind me. It's a bump in the road and I need to learn from it, and I need to move on because otherwise, I am going to be stuck at a crossroads.
"Obviously, it's an extremely tough time at the moment, but I have coping mechanisms from previous traumas on how to deal with it. I'm not saying it's easy. It's not a walk in the park - there's a lot of things that come with this, emotionally. But you've either got to move on, start afresh. or you could dwell on the past."
In the interview, Thompson discusses her previous mental health struggles and acknowledges that she was "really worried" that the public attention during the court case could affect her mental health again. But, she said that she won't let the case define her and that she is exploring her opportunities for a fresh start.
"It's had a massive impact on me but I've built up a lot, I've been through a lot and I know I can take this on, and I will move on," she said.
She said that she is considering a move to Australia and is currently enjoying a self-imposed absence from the Cork team.
I've taken a step back from Cork for the moment. That was a personal decision. It wasn't a management decision or anything from the county board, it was a personal decision to step away for the moment
"I feel like if my head is not 100% in something, I'm not going to do it. So I want to take this time as an opportunity to see what's out there. And there is a lot out there at the moment, especially overseas, so maybe this is my time.
"It's up in the air, everything is still a bit fresh but there's huge talk now when it comes AFLW [Australian Football League, Women] - Australia. There's a huge avenue.
"I can see it as a massive opportunity. I feel like now is a new beginning rather than something negative. I tend to want to see the positive out of all of this. I'm a firm believer than everything happens for a reason," she told the .
When passing down his judgement on the court case, Judge Con O'Leary said that he could not understand the media fascination with the case and described the social media commentary at the time as "quite unpleasant". Ms Thompson agrees.
"Lots of people have been in that situation but if you don't have a profile, it's not news," she said.
"Which is not to take away from what happened, but I don't think it's fair at the same time to be subjected to that. I don't think that it's fair on anyone to be subject to that sort of harassment. I think it's bullying. I think the media are bullies to a certain extent."
