Meet the operations technician who spends her spare time throwing axes in the woods – when she’s not pole dancing to keep fit that is.
Ceola McGowan, 30, is Ireland’s top female axe thrower but she owes her core strength and fitness to mastering pole techniques.
She told the Irish Sunday Mirror: “I started doing pole dancing a few years back when I was living in Sligo.
“I’d say pole dancing made it easier for me to pick up the axe. They are both great for working your core and your muscles.” Ceola, who works as an operations technician for an energy company, first got into axe throwing by chance in 2018 but now she’s the Irish female champion.
She explained: “I was doing a class with this girl and she said, ‘I’m off to the woods to throw axes’. I said, ‘Can anyone do it?’
“On my first effort I managed to get the axe all the way down the range, but I didn’t hit the target. After a few goes I got it and I absolutely loved it.
“Three weeks later I bought my own axe, I was hooked. It seems really big and threatening, but I’d say it’s easier than archery.
“The weight of the axe head means physics applies. It’s not as hard as it seems and it’s very therapeutic.” It was also love at first throw for retail worker Oonagh Standing, 50, when she took up the sport in 2017.
Her husband Leigh is one of the founders of the Wicklow Axe Throwers Club and he introduced her to the thrill of target throwing.
Mum-of-three Oonagh revealed: “Basically your target is a heavy piece of tree trunk with a two-foot wide bullseye on it and it’s 20 feet away.
“It’s a double-headed axe and it’s very heavy. But when you throw it it’s literally stress-busting.
“That ‘thunk’ when it hits the target, you can nearly feel it in your gut. It’s so good for your mental health.
“I find it relaxing and exhilarating all at the same time.” Both women are members of the Irish ladies team and love nothing more than spending hours at the club’s barn in Wicklow.
Oonagh said: “We go up there and light a fire, cook some freshly caught mackerel, play some music, hang out...and throw axes.”
Meanwhile, Ceola, who came fourth in the last World Championships in 2019, has her sights fixed on winning the world title in Canada next year.
She added: “In Sweden you have women in their 50s, 60s and 70s lobbing axes. I’m taking the world title some day, I’m absolutely determined.”
- To find out more see Axe Throwing Ireland on Facebook.
