Prison officers are required to remain with Carey for the duration of his time at the hospital
12:49, 26 Jul 2026Updated 12:59, 26 Jul 2026
DJ Carey (Image: Collins Courts)
Disgraced former Kilkenny GAA star DJ Carey was taken to hospital for a health issue.
Prison officers escorted Carey (54) from Mountjoy prison to Dublin’s Mater Hospital this week, where it is understood he was scheduled to stay for a number of nights, the Irish Mirror reports.
The former All-Star hurler is currently serving a five-and-a-half-year sentence for defrauding almost €400,000 from over 20 people while pretending to have cancer over a period between 2014 and 2022. He was sentenced in November last year.
Prison officers are required to remain with Carey for the duration of his time at the hospital. Carey’s hospitalisation comes over eight months on from his imprisonment for crimes which shocked the nation.
Dublin’s Circuit Criminal Court heard that the former GAA All-Star defrauded in total €394,127 and $13,000 US dollars from his victims. Some €44,200 has been repaid, leaving €349,927 and $13,000 US dollars outstanding.
Former Kilkenny hurler DJ Carey arriving at the Criminal Courts of Justice in Dublin where he was charged with inducing people to pay him money after fraudulently claiming to have cancer(Image: PA)
He was sentenced after pleading guilty to ten counts of dishonestly inducing others to pay money to him after fraudulently claiming to have cancer.
A further eight charges of dishonestly inducing others to pay money and two counts of using a false instrument with the intention of inducing another to accept it as genuine were taken into consideration by the court.
Carey, with an address before the court of The Drive, Newtown, Maynooth, Co Kildare, told the victims that he had cancer and needed money as he was undergoing treatment in Seattle.
Imposing sentence last year, Judge Martin Nolan said Carey “took advantage of people’s good nature and goodwill towards him”.
The judge said this was a “very low fraud” and Carey’s behaviour was “reprehensible” and “very serious”. He said Carey promised to repay money, but “he knew at the time he could never repay the money”.
Judge Nolan said the injured parties “must have looked in mirror and said ‘how foolish am I?'”
But he said they were “good natured people” who had lost money and possibly some of their faith in other people.
The judge noted Carey was “one of best known hurlers ever” whose reputation has been destroyed. He noted the mitigation included Carey’s guilty plea and co-operation with gardai.
One of those Carey pleaded guilty to defrauding, publican and devout GAA fan Noel Tynan, who lost €10,000, told RTE’s Prime Time that he welcomed the conviction.
“Everybody else has to pay for their crimes if they get caught,” he said.