Lar carries the fight — on and off the pitch

HE has won almost every accolade in the game at club and county level yet there is no fear of complacency for Tipperary attacker Lar Corbett.

On Sunday the Premier County entertain Wexford in the final group game of the Allianz Hurling League and Corbett, if he wins his fight for fitness after damaging a hamstring while playing with his club Thurles Sarsfields at the weekend, will approach the game with the same focus he would an All-Ireland final.

He explained: “It’s all about your mindset and how you take these things in your stride, winning the All-Ireland and hurler of the year, whatever it is. You look back at these things when you retire but when you’re still playing, you’re going out marking a corner back against Wexford who doesn’t care what you did yesterday or the year before.

“So you have to remember — make sure that everything is right, that Larry Corbett and the Tipperary team have everything right. We’re not going to get anything soft.”

With bitter memories of events after that All-Ireland win of 2001, when a young and promising Tipperary team failed to drive on and collect moresilverware, that philosophy is what is driving Corbett and company this season.

After losing their two opening games to Kilkenny and Dublin, Tipperary recovered to leave themselves an outside chance of making this year’s league final. But their ambitions, however, extend beyond that — retaining Liam MacCarthy.

Corbett continued: “Tipperary has been a very positive place to be over the past three or four years and it’s like that again this year which is great to see.

“We have forget about what has happened in the past. We know that we have no divine right to win the All-Ireland on any given year so we’re looking forward to this year.

“We know we’re at the bottom of the pile again, we’re going to have to work the very same as any other team to go on and try and retain it.”

That same positive attitude also informs Lar Corbett in his personal life.

The collapse of the construction industry has hit those in the trades hardest of all, and Lar — an electrician — is no exception.

Far from simply wallowing in self-pity, however, Lar has joined forces with Thurles businessman, Kevin Coppinger.

On Saturday evening, at 8pm with former manager Liam Sheedy cutting the ribbon, Lar takes his first brave steps into the cut-throat world of business with the official opening of Corbett’s & Coppinger’s Bar, just off the square, on the road out to Semple Stadium.

And it is a brave move, no guarantee of success, even for a guy with his profile.

“Myself and Kevin sat down a couple of weeks ago and wondered — what can we do different? It’s very easy to say ‘I have no work’, and stay at home. I always try and look at the positive side of things — that’s one thing Tipperary have done in their hurling over the past three or four years, everything has been positive. There’s a way around everything and there’s a different angle on everything.

“I just wanted to try and put a few things together with Kevin. We’ve come up with this new venture but it’s like anything else, you never know how you’ll go until you actually try something. And we’re prepared to try everything.”

This, of course, is a side of the inter-county star that most people don’t see, the struggle to put bread on the table. “You have Pádraic Maher and Conor O’Mahony (two Tipp teammates), and they don’t mind me saying this — they have no work at the moment.

“These lads are playing in the biggest games in hurling but come a Monday morning — and I was in the same boat myself — they’ve no work to go to. You have to try and pay the bills and keep things coming in every week; it’s great to be representing Tipperary and great to be representing Thurles Sarsfields but at the end of the day, you need work Monday to Friday and a steady income coming in.”

That source of income has dried up for a lot of people, and even the best of GAA players aren’t immune.

Some, however, like Lar Corbett, are trying to turn those negatives into a positive. Fighting on a number of fronts, this weekend — bar opening, final league game — is a big one for the Sars star. Here’s wishing him luck.