D. J. CAREY

'Denis Joseph "D.J." Carey' (born 11 November, 1970) is a former Irish sportsperson who played hurling with Kilkenny from 1990 until 2005. He has gained iconic status in the sport and is regarded as one of the greatest players of all-time. Carey is currently the President of the Gaelic Players Association. Carey previously played handball having won both the 60 x 30 and 40 x 20 doubles with Eamon Law at minor level.

Contents

Early & private life

Hurling career

Club

Inter-county

Honours

Teams

External links

Early & private life

D.J. Carey was born in Gowran, a small village situated in mid-Kilkenny on the main Dublin to Waterford road, in 1970. He was born into a large farming family, with three brothers and three sisters. One of his sisters, Catriona, is a star player on the Irish field hockey team, as well as being part of the Kilkenny senior camogie team. His brother, Martin Carey, was also a member of the Kilkenny hurling panel as a substitute goalkeeper for a number of years. Carey was always destined to be a hurler as many of his relatives had already shown great skill at the game. His aunt, Peggy Carey, won four All-Ireland camogie titles with Kilkenny and his granduncle, Paddy Phelan, was an iconic hurler of the 1930s and was selected on the Gaelic Athletic Association Team of the Century and the Team of The Millennium.
Carey was educated at the local national school where his hurling skills were first developed. Ironically, when he had the choice of playing either hurling or football at under-12 level with Kilkenny, Carey chose football. When it became apparent to him that football wasn’t too popular in Kilkenny, Carey soon made the switch to hurling. The 1970s and 1980s were great years for Kilkenny hurling, and stars of that period like Eddie Keher, Frank Cummins and Billy Fitzpatrick were a big influence on the young hurler. Carey later studied at St. Kieran's College in Kilkenny, a famed hurling nursery. It was here that his hurling skills were developed further and he won back-to-back All-Ireland Colleges titles in 1988 and 1989.
Carey’s big achievement outside sport is his successful business venture “D.J. Carey Enterprises.” Based in his home village of Gowran, this is a wholesale company that sells hygiene products to other businesses. Carey’s private life has long been the subject of intense media scrutiny and rumour. He is separated from his wife and has two children. They live in Rockfield, Gowran having been forced to leave the family home. Carey has also been lauded for his tireless charity work.

Hurling career

Club

Carey plays his club hurling with the Young Irelands club in Gowran. He has enjoyed much success with the club at under-age level, where he played in goal for much of the time. He joined the senior team in the early 1990s. Since then he has won two Kilkenny SHC titles in 1996 and 2002. As a result of these wins Carey was awarded with the captaincy of the Kilkenny senior team for the following year.

Inter-county

Carey narrowly missed out on a place on the Kilkenny minor hurling panel in 1987. Instead he had to wait until 1988. That year he won a Leinster minor title before later capturing an All-Ireland title at minor level. He quickly graduated onto the under-21 team, winning Leinster and All-Ireland medals once again in 1990.
By this stage Carey was also a member of the Kilkenny senior hurling panel. He made his debut against Offaly in the Leinster championship that year, however, he ended up on the losing side. In 1991 Carey won his first Leinster medal at senior level before booking a place in his first All-Ireland final. On the day, however, Kilkenny were defeated by Tipperary. In 1992 Carey captured his second Leinster medal, once again ensuring a spot in the All-Ireland final. Kilkenny easily defeated Cork on the day, and Carey captured his first senior All-Ireland medal. In 1993 he claimed his third consecutive Leinster title, before going on to win his second All-Ireland medal following a victory over Galway. Carey's performances were widely recognized, and he won All-Star awards in each of these years, as well as Hurler Of The Year in 1993. Aged only 22, DJ was already on his way to becoming one of the most successful hurlers of all time.
Kilkenny did not reach another All-Ireland until 1998 when DJ shocked the sporting world in April of that year by announcing his retirement, due to the pressure of being in the spotlight. But six weeks later, having received no less than 25,000 letters of encouragement, DJ was persuaded to get back in the game. But he was subdued in the final, and also in the following year's renewal.
The tide turned to Kilkenny's and DJ's advantage in 2000. DJ ran riot throughout the championship scoring goals galore, and even though there were questions about his excessive use of steps once again that season, proved himself beyond any doubt with a stunning display against Offaly in the final. DJ was named 'man-of-the-match' and went on to pick up his 8th all-star as well as another Hurler Of The Year. Amazingly, DJ was not included in the Team Of The Millennium.
Towards the end of 2001, DJ was in a car accident which curtailed him for the following year with injuries to his neck. He came back in time for next year's campaign and again starred in the All-Ireland winning team. A ninth All-Star award followed, matching Eddie Keher's All-Star record of nine for Kilkenny. Another win followed in 2002 and in 2003 DJ captained the side to All-Ireland victory against Cork, doing the double again.
In June 2006 Carey announced his retirement from inter-county hurling.
He still plays a big part in the Gaelic Players Assosiation (GPA).

Honours

Competition	No.	Years
All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championships	5	1992, 1993, 2000, 2002, 2003
Leinster Senior Hurling Championships	10	1991, 1992, 1993, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005
National Hurling Leagues	4	1990, 1995, 2003, 2005
All-Ireland Under-21 Hurling Championship	1	1990
All-Ireland Minor Hurling Championships	1	1988
Kilkenny Senior Hurling Championship	2	1996, 2000
All-Star Awards	9	1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2002

Teams

External links

★ A picture of D.J. Carey

★ Official Gaelic Players Association Website