02-07-2025
From All-Ireland hero to courtroom shame — DJ Carey's guilty plea ends a sad chapter
'A jury will not be required,' Colman Cody SC told Ms Justice Patricia Ryan just after 10am in court room seven in the Criminal Courts of Justice in Dublin.
In court parlance, and coming from the defence barrister, that meant the accused was pleading guilty. The court had previously heard that the trial would take three-to-four weeks, or could even stretch into a fifth.
But Denis 'DJ' Carey's guilty plea to 10 counts of deception meant there would be no trial at all. Dressed in a black suit and adopting a neutral, focused gaze, he said the word 'guilty' to each charge he faced.
Even the tie he wore carried a certain resonance, black and yellow being the colours of Kilkenny which he wore with such distinction for so long.
He won't learn his sentence until October, a date which will act as the culmination of a sorry saga whereby one of the most iconic figures to ever play GAA duped people into giving him money by pretending he had cancer.
For those who weren't around to remember him at his peak, it is hard to overemphasise what a superstar DJ Carey was to the sport of hurling around the turn of the millennium.
He was the standout player in a wonderful team that occupied the front pages of newspapers as much as the back pages back in the day. When Tiger Woods visited Ireland, he dined with DJ Carey. When his marriage broke down, it was headline news.
But while many will remember him for his five All-Irelands, his nine All-Star awards and the thousands of letters he received when he retired aged just 27 before reversing his decision, most may now think of the fraudster first.
A trial would have meant all the sordid details would have been laid bare but, with his guilty pleas, this won't be heard by a jury. Instead, victim impact statements will be read to court, of which there could be many of them.
Denis O'Brien was the standout name among those Mr Carey admitted to duping out of money by pretending he had cancer.
Or more specifically, that he had 'dishonestly by deception induce to make monetary payments after fraudulently claiming to have cancer and needed finances to obtain treatment for same with the intention of making a gain for [himself] and causing loss to another'.
While many will remember DJ Carey for his five All-Irelands, his nine All-Star awards and the thousands of letters he received when he retired aged just 27 before reversing his decision, most may now think of the fraudster first. Photo: Niall Carson/PA
But there were many others too. Owen and Ann Conway, Mark and Sharon Kelly, Aidan Mulligan, Tony Griffin, Christy Browne, Thomas Butler, Jeffrey Howes, Noel Tynan, Edwin Carey, and Aonghus Leydon.
On dates between 2014 and 2022. This had been going on a long time. Well before DJ Carey became a meme with that infamous photo of him with an iPhone wire up his nose that found its way to every WhatsApp group in the country.
The court didn't hear the sums involved on Wednesday, just that he had pleaded guilty to obtaining money in this way.
Prior to being charged with these offences, Mr Carey had already been making the news again for the wrong reasons. In 2017, he reached a settlement with AIB that saw 99% of a €9.5m debt written down.
RTÉ's Prime Time first reported that the bank secured a High Court judgment for the €9.5m on May 9, 2011, mostly arising from a €7.85m loan to Mr Carey that was secured on properties at Mount Juliet in Kilkenny and the K Club in Kildare.
But it was written down to just €60,000. This prompted outrage from politicians, with one remarking that 'most people don't have celebrity status or good contacts' when it came to having debts written off.
When first appearing in court to face deception charges, he was granted free legal aid as the court heard he had 'no income whatsoever'.
On Wednesday, Mr Cody said that the application for free legal aid would be extended as he foreshadowed some of the mitigating factors that would be raised when it came to his sentencing.
Former Kilkenny hurler DJ Carey does have 'significant health issues' which include a heart complaint which required surgery last year. Photo: Niall Carson/PA
Mr Carey, his barrister said, may have fraudulently claimed to have cancer but he does have 'significant health issues'. This included a heart complaint which required surgery last year, the court heard.
A report will be submitted by his doctors in this regard. Furthermore, the court heard there were also mental health issues, with a report set to be provided by a psychologist.
The charges Mr Carey was accused of are contrary to sections six and 26 of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001. Under section six, the maximum sentence is five years in prison. Under section 26, it's 10 years.
There will be much for the judge to consider at the time of sentencing, with the hearing set to last at least an hour and a half.
In a week when Kilkenny may dominate the back pages as they seek passage to yet another All-Ireland final, one of its most famous sons occupies the front of them again.
He will be sentenced on October 29.
