BACK in the 1980s, when men were men, two moustaches stood out above all others.

One belonged to Magnum P.I, he of the Ferrari and Hawaiian shirts while the other, belonged to Olcan McFetridge of Armoy and Antrim and a 1989 All-Star recipient.

It may be hard for readers of a certain age to understand but before the explosion of football success in the 90s, Antrim’s hurlers looked capable of making a breakthrough on the national stage.

The Saffrons carried the hopes of Ulster and McFetridge’s natural ability and eye for a score made him a hero and earned him his All-Star alongside team mate Dessie Donnelly.

Cloot as he is affectionately known hung up his boots many years ago and is genuinely embarrassed with his legendary status.

“I don’t really talk about the game that much and when people tell me how good I was, I always think no, that can’t be right” he said.

“As a player you are up one day and down the next. It’s the same as any walk of life and if you take it too seriously you run into trouble.”

“Even when I was I playing people would tell me that I was good but it just went over my head because I knew I was having good games and bad games with my club. Winning and losing was all part and parcel of the game.”

McFetridge was last seen in action this summer as one of the legends involved in the Master Marksman segment on RTE’s Road to Corker television series.

This fun charity event ended at the semi-final stage for Olcan who was edged out by Limerick’s Gary Kirby.

Appearances on the field have been few and far between for the 45 year-old in recent years. In 1987, just as he was approaching his peak, he needed surgery on an ankle problem and all that wear and tear has caught up with him.

“I played a game last August for charity and it nearly killed me so I said that was it, never again” he said.

“I hadn’t played for seven years before that and injuries and old age all kicked in at the same time.”

“I had problems with my back and ankles when I was playing for Antrim but because I was getting constant treatment it curtailed things but once I pulled the pin, it kicked in big time.”

In fact, it’s fair to say that Cloot has minimal involvement with hurling at any level these days. The energy and effort he put into hurling with Antrim and later with Armoy as player, manager and coach has stripped away much of his enthusiasm for the game.

At the moment, his focus is very firmly on bringing up his two young children and, as he says himself, “they come first”.

He’s content to watch from the sidelines at the moment but for years it was sport that dominated his life. One of seven brothers, he hurled from an early age and played soccer to a decent level with Armoy United.

In 1989, the year Antrim lost the All-Ireland final to Tipperary, Olcan was on the Armoy United side that lost 5-1 against Glentoran in the Irish Cup.

He played in midfield or defence on the soccer field but made his name at hurling playing in attack.

“The stick was never out of my hand really when I was growing up and I got some great coaching early on.” he said.

“Armoy’s Gerry Burns was the main man when I first started with the club and then at school Seamus Hegarty was the PE teacher and then Jim Nelson with Antrim, he was brilliant.”

“I was into sport, any kind really and for our lot it was hurling and soccer.”

“The two of them were the same to me. I’d have loved to have played more gaelic football, but the club wasn’t really a dual club, it was predominantly a hurling club.”

By his own admission, Olcan was an instinctive player and his approach to the game seems very old-fashioned in light of today’s scientific, sports psychologist, target-setting era.

“I just went to play, whatever happened, happened. I never set any goals” he said.

“It was brilliant to be honoured (with the All-Star) and I would never want it to be taken away. It was a great feeling and everything but I never set out to get that type of award. It was far from my thinking.”

“I played because I enjoyed sport. If I had a hurling match on a Sunday morning I played it and if I had a soccer match on a Sunday afternoon I played it. I never thought much about games going out to play.”

“If things happened on the pitch for me that was great and if it didn’t well so be it, I didn’t lose any sleep over it. I worked hard and trained hard, I did everything that I had to do, but I wasn’t into analysing things much.”

Playing with that sense of freedom allowed Olcan to express himself fully on the field and helped cement his place as one of the best hurlers of his generation.

That same attitude, the acceptance of the highs and lows of sport, has left him with few regrets about Antrim’s failure to make that All-Ireland breakthrough.

“When you get up to the top level you want to be the best team but Antrim had a spell from 86-93 when it was very possible that we could have two All-Irelands” he said.

“It wasn’t for want of trying, it just wasn’t to be. We came up against better teams on the day. When Tipperary beat us Nicky English was the difference. If he had been playing for us we would have won it.”