Antrim's Olcan "Cloot" McFetridge A Player's Player and a Model Sportsman Above the imaginary but quite definable Dublin/Galway line, they talk about hurling in the same way others would talk about horse-racing in Kildare or drag-hunting in Cork. The lovers of the finest of field games talk about the game with a passion hardly equalled in any other part of the gaelic universe. For those with a deep gra for hurling in unfashionable Ulster and bordering quarters, the game reflects a lot that is best in northern folk, graft, honesty and pride. The northern species, those of the hurling fraternity, are a discerning people. Sporting Gods aren't encouraged or listed off the tongue at street corners. Hurlers live by their deeds on the day of a match in the northern hurling strongholds of Antrim, reputations are tags put on players by objective outsiders. In Antrim everything is subjective, little room is left for profiles, analysis or even ratings or the stock-in-hand. Down in deepest southern Ireland, the production of hurling icons is a self-propagating one. In Tipperary, Limerick and Cork, frequency of successes on the field generate their overall player ratings. No one was rated more highly than Cork's Christy Ring. Probably the most skillful hurling artisan ever to grace a playing field, the legendary Ring hailed from the famous Cork club side Blackpool Glen Rovers. It's still a club to rival the likes of neighbouring St. Finbars and the Ballyhale Shamrocks of this world. Up north, Glen Rovers are an ambitious, spirited and success-starved outfit. They're the Rovers of Antrim's Armoy club. Olcan McFetridge is their modern day Christy Ring, as agreed by his plethora of eager, young understudies watching his every twist and turn at the club's modest Glenshesk Road headquarters. Nicknames, unlike reputations, are easily picked up in the Loughgiel/Ballycastle area of County Antrim. With the village of Armoy lying smack in the middle of the hurling heartlands, nicknames come with the name tag on every newly-born child's wrist on delivery. Olcan McFetridge goes by the name of Cloot. Locally though, he's more often than not referred to as Genius. Genial and well liked in the dog-eat-dog business of Antrim inter-county fare, Armoy's pride and joy has taken off where 'erstwhile clubmate Vincent Caulfield left off. A star in Antrim's amazing 1-24 to 7-14 semi-final defeat against Cork in the mid-eighties, Caulfield's departure to foreign shores deprived the hard-hit club of a solid leader at the club. Caulfield and the McCormick brothers forced-emigration in 1988 ironically coincided with the advent of Cloot on to the Antrim Senior side. Armoy had found a new leader and Antrim a new star. Possibly no one player in Ulster hurling presently can boast such a dazzling panoply of skills as those exhibited by the 29 year old skilled championship hurling, the Armoy ace has been the most lethal marksman around particularly since his high-profile days of his Championship winning displays for his then adopted Loughgiel club in 1988. His scoring exploits in that Championship run (eventually ended by Limerick's Ballybrown) have been entered in the annals of Antrim hurling. Observers point to his 1-9 tally versus Dunloy, another 1-7 against Cushendall and then a 2-4 spree in the final against Saint John's as the hallmark of a genius at play. Wrecked by the departure of the aforementioned Caulfield and others, the village of Armoy (pop.:560) failed to field a hurling Senior outfit in 1988. McFetridge plied his skill with the Loughgiel giants but thankfully nowadays he's in the vanguard of the push by the club to made sure that there is sufficient stock-pile of resources built up to forestall such an occurrence again. One of a family of seven boys and five girls born to Eileen and the late Patrick McFetridge, Cloot is currently Armoy's player/manager. Where once the likes of Gerry Burns (Armoy's efficient P.R.O.) and Star of the Sea, Ballycastle teacher Seamus Hegarty tutored the young stocky starlet, McFetridge now imports the self-same knowledge among promising youngsters at the club such as Hugh McDonnell, Martin McClafferty, Justin and Damien McToal and Michael O'Kane. The system of regeneration valued so highly in the Cork Rovers is now a well-oiled integral part of the Armoy machine. An All-star in 1989 and a replacement again in '90/'91, the five foot seven inch hurling wizard first caught the eye nationwide when playing a vital part in Antrim's successful 1988 Division Two promotion campaign. Ironically, his dream start at inter-county level coincided with Armoy's lowest ever point. The club, had the previous year, been promoted to Senior ranks but within twelve months had seen emigration cause such a catastrophe at the club, that fielding a Senior team was a non-starter. Intermediate Championship wins in '84 and '86 were but a distant memory. Meanwhile Cloot, Sambo and Co. were thrilling the nation with their All-Ireland exploits. Having made his county debut just months earlier in a match against Laois, Cloot proceeded to grab national headlines by later notching 1-6 against mighty Tipperary at headquarters A builders' labourer, Olcan has been a key member of the Armoy Senior set-up since the tender age of fourteen, a time when men like Eugene Laverty and Edgar Dornan helped to inspire the Underage club members, like the sometime Armoy United soccer star. As with most talented athletes, Antrim's ever-present attacker is a dab hand at several sports. Friends confirm that he is as likely to clear the table from the break at pool or throw 180 at darts, as he is capable of bagging a hat-trick of goals against the top defenders in the country. His skills are appreciated by opponents and team-mates in equal measure whether the interviewee be Down's Kevin Coulter, Cushendall's Terence McNaughton, Derry's Kieran McKeever and or Loughgiel's John Paul McKillop. Cloot is a player's player and a recognised model sportsman. Battered and bruised he may be in the course of creating and converting scores but Olcan McFetridge has never been known to strike back. Armoy's answer to Gary Lineker! A Minor Championship medal winner in 1976 with Armoy alongside such as Gerard McClafferty and brother Eugene, the wear and tear of tough, competitive hurling over the years has taken it's toll to a degree and in 1987 only a vital operation on damaged ankle ligaments saved Olcan's career almost before it had taken off. The help of county physiotherapist Dan Turley and team mentor Jim Nelson proved invaluable in that time and apart from a recent back-injury the McFetridge motor is turning over just nicely as a provincial final date with either Derry or Down looms. Weighing in at a present 12 stone 4 pounds reminds the Antrim scoregetter that as is his nature, the vagaries of excess poundage can too often pose as difficult an obstacle to overcome as a leech-like defender. "I'm confident I can get down to a fighting fit eleven and a half stone before the middle of May. I need to. It's a do-or-die season for me and possible for Antrim. The county has been knocked a fair-bit since 1989 and it's very important we come good this season," the Railway Cup star admitted. Significantly in parallel with the progress being made on the hurling fronts of Down and Derry, Armoy's once Cinderella-tag is slowly but surely being turned on its head. Currently awaiting their inaugural game in this year's Antrim Division Two Intermediate League, the club are building in every way possible towards securing a spot alongside the elite of Cushendall and the Ballycastle's of this world. Secretary James McDonnell confirms the club's ambitious plans. "We're currently embarking on a building fund which will eventually see us owning our own modern dressing-rooms, incorporating showers, meeting rooms and additional facilities. Where last year we might have ran things on a shoestring budget, we have several fundraising campaigns planned such as a Monster Bingo and major draws which should leave us in a very good financial position." Generous in his praise of Olcan and all the club members involved in Underage coaching at Armoy, James maintains that while the club was at a low ebb in 1988, the association has a rock-solid concrete future in Armoy. "We play Lanhdergh in our first League match this season and we're looking to the future, both on and off the field. We're determined not only to consolidate but to strengthen our position within Antrim hurling," the affable James insisted. As for the McFetridge influence, James adds a postscript to any talk of a solo-role for Cloot "Olcan's younger brother Geoffrey is only 19 but he has the makings of a very good player. He's one of a great bunch of young lads at the club who will be coming through in the next couple of years." As the old saying goes - Watch this space! Taken From Hogan Stand Magazine 24/04/92. Written By Kevin Carney. . Tweet

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