A fierce struggle took place round the market cross, during which Sir John Byron was wounded in the face with a poleaxe.
"A Cotswold Village"
J. Arthur Gibbs
What th' butcher done I dinnaw; but annyhow they accused him iv wantin' to poleaxe th' governmint; an' they thrun him into a cell.
"Mr. Dooley: In the Hearts of His Countrymen"
Finley Peter Dunne
Wretched brutes there at the cattlemarket waiting for the poleaxe to split their skulls open.
"Ulysses"
James Joyce